text:
Vans Warped Tour
Taking Back Sunday, All Time Low, New Found Glory, Street Light Manifesto, Yellowcard, Pierce the Veil, Four Year Strong, Of Mice and Men, We the Kings, Breathe Carolina, Miss May I, Falling in Reverse, Blood On The Dance Floor, Every Time I Die, Mayday Parade, Blessthefall, Chelsea Grin, FOR TODAY, Memphis May Fire, Motionless in White, Rise To Remain, Sleeping With Sirens, The Ghost Inside, Vampires Everywhere!, TITLE FIGHT, Bayside, Senses Fail, Vanna, Polar Bear Club, We Are the In Crowd, Man Overboard, A Loss For Words, Funeral Party, Justina, I Fight Dragons, Machine Gun Kelly, Echo Movement, G-Eazy, Stepdad, The Constellations, Ballyhoo!, Champagne Champagne, T. Mills, Tomorrows Bad Seeds, Mod Sun, The Green, Iwrestledabearonce, Born Of Osiris, Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!, Fireworks, Transit, Make Do and Mend, Matt Toka, Tonight Alive, Skip the Foreplay, Sick of Sarah, Mighty Mongo, Captain Capa, I Call Fives, Hostage Calm, The Silver Comet, Twin Atlantic, The Darlings, Dead Sara, A Loss For Words, Koji, Wick-It The Instigator
Vans Warped Tour is a "punk rock summer camp" on wheels where music, athletes and lifestyles co-mingle and thrive in an atmosphere dedicated to music fans of punk, alternative, hip-hop, ska, pop punk, electronica, alternative rock, emo, hardcore and more. Now entering its 19th year, the VWT has become America's longest running festival concert tour and reaches more than 600,000 kids every summer. Warped is also responsible for introducing music fans to such artists as No Doubt, Katy Perry, Blink 182, Papa Roach, Sublime, My Chemical Romance, Eminem and Fall Out Boy, among hundreds of others, as well as creating the blueprint for concert tour sponsorship integration that is now used throughout other tours today.
"Sometimes it takes some time to remember where you were headed in the first place and the people you intended to go there with…" —Taking Back Sunday
This is the record that a lot of people never thought would happen: A brand new Taking Back Sunday album that features the same line-up as the band's platinum-selling 2002 debut Tell All Your Friends. Although th...e players here—frontman Adam Lazzara, guitarists and vocalist John Nolan, guitarist Eddie Reyes, drummer Mark O'Connell and bassist Shaun Cooper—are the same, it's important to point out that this album isn't a sequel to this band's debut as much as it is the beginning of a new chapter of innovation and productivity from this celebrated Long Island rock act.
"When I listen to a song like 'Sad Savior' or 'Who Are You Anyway?' it's evident that this record isn't true to any scene or genre," Lazzara responds when asked what aspect of Taking Back Sunday he's most proud of. Nolan—who left Taking Back Sunday alongside Cooper in 2003—echoes this sentiment, adding "I can't imagine us having written this album after Tell All Your Friends," explains Nolan. "It doesn't feel like the follow-up up to that album and we definitely wouldn't have been able to bring these songs to life if we hadn't gone through all the experiences that we've all been through during the past seven years."
Since the release of Tell All Your Friends, Taking Back Sunday has released three more studio albums, which have sold over two million copies, headlined arenas, toured multiple times in amphitheaters with bands such as Linkin Park, Weezer and Blink-182, and shared Festival Stages with the likes of The Police, The Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead and Phoenix. In August of 2011 they will perform on the main stage at Reading and Leeds festivals for the fourth time. Cooper and Nolan, meanwhile, went on to form critically-acclaimed band Straylight Run, who in 2007 released The Needles The Space on Universal Republic Records, headlined Warped Tour and performed on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. However, all of the members admit that there is a certain chemistry that only exists when these five musicians are together in the same room.
What began with the simple idea of all five members coming together at the Sonic Ranch in the border town of Tornillo, Texas (near El Paso), last year quickly resulted in a sonic windfall that saw the band writing nearly a dozen songs—and from there Taking Back Sunday never looked back. "The whole experience of us getting back together was really freeing," Lazzara explains. "We went into all of this knowing that our music didn't have to sound a certain way, so we just decided to see what happens and this is what came of it." Nolan adds, "I think we all knew that we had to take this band to a place where it hadn't been before for it to really work; it couldn't all be about nostalgia."
After two more writing sessions at the Sonic Ranch and a stint in Seattle at the Robert Lang Studios, the band reconvened in Los Angeles with Eric Valentine (who produced their 2006 album Louder Now as well as albums by Queens Of The Stone Age and The All-American Rejects) in late August to begin work on the band's self-titled album, taking periodic breaks to incorporate the new songs that continued to pour out of their collaborative efforts. "I like to think of Eric as a rocket scientist because he's so skilled when it comes to production," Lazzara explains. "He spent so much time making sure everything sounded perfect and each track's personality really got to shine."
Undeniably Taking Back Sunday's most varied record, Taking Back Sunday is also their most ambitious, and it showcases the band's music in ways that you might not expect judging from their previous efforts. This is stridently evident on the album's opener "El Paso," a raging post-hardcore anthem that is by far the heaviest thing Taking Back Sunday have ever put onto tape. "That song came from a riff that Mark had that had gotten the snub in the past, which I'm glad about because I don't think it would have been as awesome as it is now," Lazzara explains. "I feel like that song really embodies the mood and environment we were all in when we first when down to the Sonic Ranch."
Another track Lazzara is especially proud of is the album's first single "Faith (When I Let You Down)," a song that's equally as cathartic in a more pop-oriented context. "I tried a lot of new things on this record and the fact that there's a lot of space in the verses is something we had never done before," he explains. Ultimately Taking Back Sunday is full of sonic firsts, from the atmospheric album closer "Call Me In The Morning" to the energetic rocker "Best Places To Be A Mom," but Valentine's specialty is making sure that the disc exists as a cohesive whole. "Even though times have changed, we haven't, and none of us are the kind of music listeners who just want to own a few singles," Nolan explains. "We all like to listen to our favorite albums from start to finish and naturally we wanted to make a record that sounds like that."
Lyrically Taking Back Sunday sees Lazzara and Nolan exploring relationships, a theme they focused on last time they worked together as well. However, instead of singing about the insular Long Island hardcore scene, that landscape has broadened to include the band members' respective relationships with their wives, kids and God. "John and I are both teetering on real adulthood, so with this record we both wanted to experiment with how straight-forward we could be lyrically," Lazzara says. Instead of being cloaked in metaphor, the lyrics on Taking Back Sunday show the band questioning their relationships as much as they embrace them, resulting in the most honest Taking Back Sunday album to date.
Lazzara is also quick to point out that adding Nolan back into the mix helped him expand his own range and gave these songs a life of their own. "I've found that I write better when there are two perspectives on the same subject; there are some songs on this record where John was coming from a totally different place than I was but when we put the two things together this whole new idea grew from it," he explains. "All of our tastes have changed over time but everyone was so trusting during the writing process and I think that allowed us to go certain places we hadn't visited in the past."
Let's face it, it would be simple for Taking Back Sunday to get back together solely in order to embark on an anniversary tour for Tell All Your Friends, but despite their previous successes they are quick to point out this record is a brand new beast that is ushering in a different era for the band. "This album isn't us trying to be something we're not," Lazzara summarizes, "it's just us and I'm really proud of that." If you listen to Taking Back Sunday with an open mind, you'll agree that it is an important record that marks a giant leap forward for a band that truly defies categorization.
All Time Low has emerged as one of the most popular new bands in recent memory, beloved by an increasingly fervent fan following for their fast-paced and fizzy brand of pop-punk. Now, with the hugely anticipated "NOTHING PERSONAL," the Maryland-based band has exceeded all expectations with a collection of effervescent new songs, marked by unstoppable hookiness and a newly discovered knack for exp...loration and invention. Where other bands might have played it safe by rehashing established hits, All Time Low instead opted to push the envelope by collaborating with a veritable who's-who of producers, each with their own unique sonic stamp. Unified by singer/guitarist Alex Gaskarth's clever lyricism, songs like "Weightless" and "Therapy" are marked by a range of diverse musical approaches, all the while retaining the patented All Time Low energy and enthusiasm.
"This record was less about doing what the bands we grew up listening to did," Gaskarth says. "It was more about knowing what we do, developing that sound, but also stemming out, trying new things, and exploring other veins."
Gaskarth, guitarist Jack Barakat, drummer Rian Dawson, and bassist Zack Merrick first got together while attending high school in the suburbs of Maryland. In 2005, the band released its debut album, "THE PARTY SCENE," the success of which led to their signing with Hopeless. The "PUT UP OR SHUT UP" EP arrived in the summer of 2006, mere weeks after the band members' high school graduation. "SO WRONG, IT'S RIGHT" followed in 2007. Fit to burst with overwhelming singles like "Dear Maria, Count Me In" and "Poppin' Champagne," the Matt Squire-produced collection scored major MTV rotation, instantly placing ATL at the forefront of modern pop-punk. The band further sealed its status by touring nearly non-stop, with highlights including multiple Vans Warped Tours, co-headlining the AP Tour 2008, and a series of their own sold-out headline tours, both here and abroad. In December 2008, All Time Low were named "Band of the Year" by Alternative Press, a remarkable achievement that even now feels like something out of a dream.
"It's still all catching up with us," Gaskarth says. "It was a sort of seamless transition from being nobody to being a band that people wanted to go see. It happens so quickly that you almost don't realize that it's happening, it just becomes a blur. Then when you get home and suddenly you're being recognized in the mall, it takes you aback, because it's just not something you've come to expect."
New found energy, new found purpose: that's what Not Without A Fight is all about. The first New Found Glory album to bear the Epitaph logo brims with fresh promise, showcasing a band comfortable in their own skin and eager to get back to basics and present it all to the world. Not Without A Fight is arguably the strongest addition to an impressive catalog with no less than three gold records and some of the most memorable songs of the past decade.
Album opener "Right Where We Left Off" is an instant reminder of the keen self-awareness that endeared New Found Glory to millions of fans worldwide in the first place. And naming their album Not Without A Fight? That's a nod to that other side of the group Epitaph owner Brett Gurewitz called "the greatest pop-punk band in history," the side that is scrappy, that's from the do-it-yourself scene. The side of a band who probably never should have been lumped in with some of the more teeny-bop friendly fare they've often shared the rock radio and TRL charts with.
Lead single "Listen to Your Friends" flips the script by rocking a verse even catchier than its chorus; "I'll Never Love Again" boasts a killer singalong. "47" has a hooky scream that breaks new ground for the Florida-bred five-some while "Truck Stop Blues" summons the potent urgency of the burgeoning scene that New Found Glory arose from, recalling a bygone era when they shared small stages with their friends in Get Up Kids, Piebald and Saves The Day.
Not Without A Fight packs together the best elements of fan favorite albums like Sticks and Stones (2002) and Catalyst (2004) with a reinvigorated drive making for a declaration that's fresh and timely. There's pop, there's punk, there's crunch, there's those irrepressible melodies and Jordan Pundik's instantly recognizable voice is in fine form.
"Nobody in New Found Glory loves anything as much as this band," says guitarist Chad Gilbert, by way of explanation as to how they have managed to maintain the same lineup - Pundik, Gilbert, Steven Klein (guitar), Ian Grushka (bass) and Cyrus Bolooki (drums) - for over ten years. "You fight with your mom. You don't hang out with her all the time. But you love her! You're never going to hate her. We're family. It might sound cliche, but that's what it is."
Of all the various compliments Streetlight Manifesto have received from fans over the years, there is one in particular that seems to resonate most with the members of the band. After a show, a kid in torn jeans and a Pantera shirt, sporting ridiculous facial hair, will find one of the Streetlighters outside of the club and say hello, followed by "Man, I don't listen to this kind of music, in fact... I hate most ska bands, but you guys are something else." Or it will be a jazz fan, sitting in the back of the venue during the set, bobbing his head, eyes closed while the band does their thing on stage. Or one of the club's stagehands will comment, while helping break down the lighting rig, that he actually enjoyed a band he was working for for once, despite having heard thousands of bands on the job over the years. And therein lies Streetlight Manifesto's appeal.
Seven guys, seven different musical backgrounds, seven different personalities, one band, one unique and unmistakable voice. Formed four years ago in New Jersey as an ad hoc group intended to put out one album and disappear, one thing lead to another and within a few months of their debut release, Everything Goes Numb, Streetlight Manifesto were officially a full time touring band, traveling the world, spreading their infectious and energetic tunes to all who would listen. One part rock, one part ska, with influences from latin, klezmer, folk, world, funk, jazz and classical thrown in, the band redefined what most people expected from a "ska" band. Three albums later, and after countless worldwide tours, the guys are still at it, still performing live to sold out shows filled with sweat drenched fans, all dancing and singing along at the top of their lungs. And the Streetlight boys wouldn't have it any other way.
ISometimes stepping away from something can remind how much you love it. Yellowcard's hiatus for the past few years was in no way an ending for the group, but rather a pause that's revived the band's passion for their music. Early last year Parsons began approaching his bandmates with the idea of beginning their fifth album—a follow- up to 2007's Paper Walls. The other members agreed, ready after t...heir temporary break to determine the band's next step. "I think it was absolutely the best possible choice we could have made as a band," Key says of the break. "The fact that we had that time to refocus and recharge individually made working together for the first time in 2 years so much more exciting. The possibilities were endless again."
The writing process for the group's energized new album, When You're Through Thinking, Say Yes, lasted for the better part of 2010. The band members sent demos and song ideas back and forth via email, and flew to each other's homes in Seattle, Los Angeles and Phoenix to expand those initial thoughts. The pieces slowly began falling into place and the record came about naturally, without any real plan besides making good music the band was excited about. "There's a really fresh energy to it," Key says. "If there is a record we've written since Ocean Avenue that's closest to it, this would be it. What I mean is that there's a similar feeling to it. The emotion and the energy that you get from the music. That's because it was so fresh and so new. We didn't feel like we had to top something we'd already accomplished. It was almost like writing our first record again."
Once the band felt they had enough material for an album, they began reaching out to record labels. Hopeless was an easy decision and Yellowcard signed with the label before going into the studio last fall to record in LA with Neal Avron, the producer they've worked with on almost all their previous albums. Two weeks were spent doing preproduction and rehearsing the songs, followed by six weeks recording. The process, which concluded in mid-November, was fun and exciting, bolstered by Avron's keen ear and longtime friendship with the group.
"He's like a sixth member of the band when it comes to recording and writing," Key says. "Neal tells you what you're good at and what you're not good at. It really pushes you to work harder and make sure that every piece of every song is the best it can be. He knows the chemistry of the band—this is our fourth album with him—and he knows how to work with us, as a group and individually."
Knowing their strengths and weakness was important to Yellowcard on this album since they wrote with the intention of highlighting what each member does best—something that truly augments the record's quality. "I think this a great reflection on Yellowcard's body of work," Mackin says. "It highlights the best of what we're all good at. The songwriting was really focused and we all complimented each other's talents. Ryan as a vocalist gives by far his best performance. I truly feel this is Yellowcard's finest work."
The final album's ten songs both recall what fans love best about Yellowcard and evolve their music forward. Many of Key's lyrics deal with what's happened to the musicians over the past few years and, as he explains, foster a "feeling of rebuilding and rebirth, and getting back to a place in your life where you want to be." It's about looking ahead, rather than backward, and being able to move on. "For You, And Your Denial" is an upbeat rocker, replete with a sing-along chorus and pop hooks, while "Hang You Up" is a slower number, almost ballad-like, that showcases the band's more introspective side. Yellowcard also revisits the subject matter of Ocean Avenue favorite "View From Heaven" on "See Me Smiling," a pensive number about looking back on the loss of a friend ten years later.
That message of forward motion isn't just in the album's lyrics. It's something Yellowcard is embodying as a group as they unleash their fifth album. "I feel like we're doing it again for the first time," Mackin says. "Everyone is so happy to do this. We remember why we do this and it feels incredible. We've got new pages sewn in our passports and we're so excited. Yellowcard has always been about really good friends enjoying music together and we can't wait to bring the new music to the fans and hopefully get some new fans."
Pierce the Veil
In the past few years, Equal Vision Records has signed some of the punk underground's most groundbreaking acts including Circa Survive, Fear Before The March Of Flames and Chiodos. The latest edition to this elite group of artists is San Diego, California's Pierce The Veil, a progressive post-rock quartet whose debut A Flair For The Dramatic incorporates elements of fractured hardcore, prog-rock and metalcore into a unique amalgam of heavy music that's bound to turn heads and blow minds.
Pierce The Veil's debut is a labor of love that the band put every ounce of creativity into. "We basically drove our RV up onto Casey's front yard and stayed there for two months," the band's frontman Vic Fuentes explains with a laugh. "I'm the biggest perfectionist and I'll do a part over and over a hundred times in the studio before it sounds right to me. I'm just glad that Casey was so patient with me," he adds. "He brought our record somewhere that I never imagined it could go."
It's true. From the jaw-droppingly schizophrenic and striking opener "Chemical Kids And Mechanical Brides" to upbeat melodic rockers like "Drella" and acoustically tinged quasi-ballads like "Falling Asleep On A Stranger," A Flair For The Dramatic incorporates nearly every style from the rock cannon without that sounding hackneyed or clichéd. This unique album is difficult to compare or reference to any other. Your best bet is to just let the music on A Flair For The Dramatic speak for itself.
"Lyrically, this was a very surprising record for me because I never thought I would write songs about relationships," Vic explains when asked about the overall theme of the disc. "It just kind of so happened that I had a couple things happen recently relationship-wise that just came out in the writing—and I'm really glad it did because every word in every line feels like it has a lot deeper meaning," he continues, citing his father as his musical teacher and biggest influence when writing the band's debut disc.
Four Year Strong
Four Year Strong is an American pop punk band from Worcester, Massachusetts, formed in 2001. The group consists of vocalists and guitarists Dan O'Connor and Alan Day, bassist Joe Weiss, keyboardist and back-up vocalist Josh Lyford and drummer Jackson Massucco.
They have released three studio albums with the latest, Enemy of the World, released on March 9, 2010.
The band's sound can be described as a blend of pop punk, Hardcore punk, and power pop. The band simply developed their sound off the idea of playing 'exactly what they want to hear' or music that they would listen to, but no one else was playing at the time. The band has cited their influences as being Lifetime, Saves the Day, Gorilla Biscuits, Blink-182, and New Found Glory to name a few. Though the band would primarily start out as a post-hardcore and emo outfit, the release of their demo in 2004 would mark a shift from post-hardcore to more synthesizer-heavy tracks, where the band would began to embrace the styles of power pop and general hardcore punk. Prior to the release of and at times within Rise or Die Trying, the band also incorporates more facets of modern hardcore, such as double bass drums, breakdowns and screaming vocals.
After recording "Someday Came Suddenly" and touring some with Attack Attack Austin left the band. After leaving, Austin decided to start something new on his own. He asked one of his best friends Jaxin Hall from New Zealand, to join him and be apart of whatever he did next. The two, got their friends in Though She Wrote, to help them write and record the song "Seven Thousand Miles for What?" they had been working on. The next day they posted it and made this myspace. Five days later the inevitable happened. They joined up with the two people that had stood by them since day one. Rise and Artery were always considered family, and after hearing the song, they accepted us into theirs.
Solidifying the line up with Valentino Arteaga from Lower Definition on drums, Shayley Bourget from Chapters and Covette on guitar and vocals, and Phil Manansala from A Static Lullaby on guitar, Of Mice & Men have already recorded their debut album to be released in February 2010 and have hit the road nonstop!
For pop-rock quartet We The Kings, it's all about staying connected – with each other, with their hometown roots, and especially with their fans. Named for hometown Bradenton, Florida's King Middle School where they first made music together, the band – Travis Clark (lead vocals, guitar), Hunter Thomsen (guitar, backing vocals), Drew Thomsen (bass) and Danny Duncan (drums) – has grown into one of the most engaging and exciting acts on the pop-rock circuit. Talent, ambition, and hard work have all played a part, but for We The Kings, nurturing the bonds between the band and their fans is what makes it all happen.
Their self-titled debut album hit #1 on Billboard's New Alternative Album sales chart and spawned the Billboard-charting tracks "Secret Valentine" and "Check Yes Juliet," which is nearing Platinum status.
Their music has been licensed for the CW, MTV, Rock Band, and more, and they were nominated for a 2008 mtvU College Radio Woodie Award. Appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live and MTV's TRL and Spring Break 2008 have further boosted the band's visibility. Constantly on the road, in 2009 they headlined their own tours as well as the 2009 Vans Warped Tour.
Since Warped wrapped up, the band has been in the studio recording their sophomore disc, produced by S*A*M & Sluggo (Gym Class Heroes, Cobra Starship, Metro Station) which will be released December 8. The infectious first single, "Heaven Can Wait," is gaining nationwide airplay, climbing the Billboard Singles chart, and has already reached the Top 10 on the Alternative Singles chart.
The title of the new release, Smile Kid (S-Curve), sums up the band's attitude. As Clark explains, "we are all about living life as happy as possible, and when you seem down, just remember to Smile Kid :)" Infectious high spirits and camaraderie energize their on-the-road videos and live performances. The joy they take in being on stage is palpable at every show; having fun and sharing that feeling with the audience is what it's all about. "It's always been based on friendship," says Clark, "which is why I think we get along so well together and why we're able to tour eleven months out of the year without wanting to kill each other."
Breathe Carolina
When Dave Schmitt and Kyle Even formed Breathe Carolina in 2007 they didn't anticipate that their project started "just for fun" would explode into an internationally sought-after band in just two short years. But like all the best, most exciting new bands, Breathe Carolina's unprecedented story began with a fan-base that grew organically, fueled by an enviable, rapidly spreading word-of-mouth, and the undeniable spark of something unique.
The story of Breathe Carolina is a modern day music fairytale – of two friends who recorded tracks on GarageBand at home in Denver, CO, put them on to MySpace and rapidly gained a huge online following that transformed their hobby into a career, and them into stars
Gaining over nine million plays on MySpace, they self-released their debut EP Gossip on iTunes, and after a phenomenal response released their debut album It's Classy, Not Classic in 2008. The album knocked the industry sideways as it subtly tore into the charts, debuting at #186 on the Billboard Top 200, #6 on the Heatseekers chart and #5 on the electronic chart. Their genre-clashing blend of crowd-pleasing pop, rock and electronica was a hit, and no longer confined to the bedroom – Breathe Carolina were a global force ready to be heard.
With new album Hello Fascination, to be released by Fearless Records on August 18th, 2009, the band takes their music to a bigger, brighter and more blistering dimension. Recorded with the stellar production team of Mike Green (Paramore, The Higher, Set Your Goals) and Matt Squire (Taking Back Sunday, 3OH!3, Panic At The Disco), their sound is re-defined and ascends to a new level with the addition of live instruments and hooky pop choruses that beg to be sung back in unison by their adoring legions of fans.
With a whole summer on the Vans Warped Tour under their belts and their previous slot on the Take Action Tour with Cute Is What We Aim For, Meg And Dia and label-mates Every Avenue, the band is ready to take this incredible album and their already-infamous live show to the streets on tour with Family Force Five this Fall. Get your jaw off the floor and say Hello to Breathe Carolina's Hello Fascination - the explosive feel good hit of the summer.
Hailing from Dayton, Ohio, Miss May I claims a sound that is mature far beyond their years. With no members over the age of 19, they have been breaking out of the Dayton music scene with a sound that is unbelievably fast paced, heavy, and crushing, yet tastefully melodic and catchy. Currently writing for a full length debut with Rise Records, the band is gearing up for a 2009 release thats looking to propel them to the forefront of their genre.
The scene's most notorious front man Ronnie Radke returns from years of mandatory silence to form Falling In Reverse, the loudest, most hard-hitting rock outfit to hit streets since his departure from Escape The Fate over three years ago. The Drug In Me Is You drops on July 26th and features eleven mega-hits that can be pre-ordered today along with the first single, "Raised By Wolves" available now on iTunes. Check out what Ronnie has been up to here.
After years of drama and speculation following Ronnie Radke's departure from Escape The Fate, the talented frontman lifts himself from the depths of adversity to emerge as one of the most dynamic and talented stars in the music scene today. Joining Radke on his forward climb to claim his position at the top are Jacky Vincent (Lead Guitar), Ryan Seaman (Aiden, I Am Ghost) on drums, bass player Mika Horiuchi and rhythm guitarist Derek Jones.
"Raised By Wolves," the first digital single from Falling In Reverse is a 3:25 minute journey into the mind of Radke - where his brutally honest lyrics break down his tumultuous past, while Falling In Reverse's ferocious sonic breakdowns pick up right where Ronnie leaves off - shredding guitar solos, massive hooks and in your face guitar riffs, reminding us all of what Ronnie is capable of…
Blood On The Dance Floor
Blood on the Dance Floor is a group from Orlando, Florida. The group currently includes vocalist Dahvie Vanity, ; Christopher Mongillo, who is a member of many other bands including Kthx and Saturday/Thursday, and screamer Garret Ecstasy. Past members include screamer Matty M.
BOTDF have released An Album entitled Let's Start A Riot, a single called Save The Rave, a second album entitled It's Hard To Be A Diamond In A Rhinestone World, have released another single entitled Suicide Club, another single called Siq With A "Q" and a radio edit album. They have also released a Scream For My Ice Cream EP.
Every Time I Die have never been an easy act to categorize and that's one of the key reasons why the band's fans have never turned their back on this innovative act's unique brand of music. While the band started out in the late '90s hardcore scene, over the past decade they've continued to evolve and push the boundaries of heavy music, a process that's culminating with their sixth full-length Ex Lives. Recorded by Joe Barresi (Tool, Queens Of The Stone Age) Ex Lives sees the band—vocalist Keith Buckley, guitarists Jordan Buckley and Andy Williams, drummer Ryan Leger—coming together to create the most forward-thinking album of their career.
"Everything about this record was new," Keith explains. "Normally I'm in a comfort zone when I write lyrics because I'm just holed up in my apartment but this time I was finding little corners of clubs in Europe with [side-project] the Damned Things trying to squeeze in a couple of hours of writing and I think that process really affected the way this album came together."
Keith adds that although Every Time I Die's party vibe has been well-documented in the past, Ex Lives saw the band approaching the album from a more serious perspective. "There's no song like 'We'rewolf' on this album," Keith explains. "I was pretty angry when we were writing these songs which isn't a good spot for a human being but is good if you're a guy singing in a band," he continues with a laugh. "I was just really angry and disappointed with a lot of things in my life at the time and I think that definitely comes through on a lot of these songs; I was wondering if it was all karma because I was a horrible person in a past life and that's where the album title came from."
From the syncopated chaos of the opening salvo "Underwater Bimbos From Outer Space" to the progressive mosh anthem "A Wild, Shameless Plain" and relentless metal riffage of "The Low Road Has No Exits," Ex Lives sees Every Time I Die further tempering their aggression while also implementing new instrumentation such as banjo (see the sinister intro of "Partying Is Such Sweet Sorrow") and, yes, flute (see the end of "Indian Giver") in order to recontextualize exactly what it means to be a heavy band, which is something that has endeared them to fans for thirteen years.
"I don't think us doing anything different is a surprise to Every Time I Die fans because one of the main reasons why a lot of people have stuck by us for so long is because they know they can expect the unexpected with each release," Keith explains, adding that if you listen close enough you'll take note of plenty of sonic subtleties on Ex Lives. "There are a lot of little weird things that I think people will start noticing more as they listen to the album," he elaborates. "I'd never added any keyboard or synthesizer elements to an Every Time I Die song before so it was a really cool opportunity to expand the sound on this disc."
Similarly Ex Lives also sees Keith pushing his limits on songs like "I Suck (Blood)," which proves how versatile the band's vocalist has become whether he's cathartically screaming or crooning an upper register melody. "On albums like [2007's] The Big Dirty no one heard my vocals until the album was totally done but on this one everyone had their input on what I was doing vocally and they could give me suggestions to improve them," Keith says, adding that this disc was more collaborative for the band. "I think I was also more energetic because I was nervous to sing in front of everyone."
It's impossible to deny that in an increasingly stagnant musical climate Every Time I Die are still pushing the limits of their own sound—and Ex Lives is aural evidence that after over a decade together they're anything but complacent. "I had to prove myself 100 percent from the beginning like I did when we put out our first record to show the other guys in Every Time I Die as well as myself that I could do this and I couldn't be happier with the end result," Keith summarizes when asked to describe Ex Lives. "This feels like a new band in a way… it's just its own thing and that feels really, really good."
It doesn't happen very often, but every once in a while a band comes along who have crafted a sound that's so unique it's hard to believe they haven't been playing together for decades. For the past four years, the members of Tallahassee, Florida's Mayday Parade—vocalist/keyboardist Derek Sanders, bassist Jeremy Lezno, guitarists Alex Garcia and Brooks Betts and drummer Jake Bundrick—have been perfecting their unique brand of pop-inflected punk rock, a process that is currently culminating with the release of their major-label debut Anywhere But Here. "We really just wanted to follow our own path on this record and not worry about if we fit in anywhere," Bundrick explains. "We were striving to make a record that meshed together really well and that was actually an album in the sense that all the songs sound different, but are working together toward a common theme."
Correspondingly Anywhere But Here shows how versatile Mayday Parade are, a fact that has endeared the band to fans all over the world and helped them forge their own niche in the rock community. From soaring and instantly accessible anthems like "Anywhere But Here" and "Get Up" to heartfelt ballads such as "Save Your Heart" and melodic midtempo tracks like "Bruised and Scarred," Anywhere But Here shows how much the band have grown since their 2006 debut A Lesson In Romantics and also proves that when it comes to Mayday Parade, songwriting takes precedence over gimmicks or fleeting fashions.
Phoenix, AZ's blessthefall stormed to the forefront of the new evolution of the post-hardcore/metalcore genre with the release of critically-acclaimed second album "Witness", produced by Michael "Elvis" Baskette (Incubus, Escape The Fate, Story Of The Year). Upon release, the album debuted in the Billboard Top 200 at #56 and the Independent Chart at #6. Having played dates in 16 countries in 2010 ...in support of Witness with the likes of As I Lay Dying, Underoath, Atreyu, and August Burns Red, blessthefall stormed into 2011 as part of Soundwave festival in Australia. After returning from the Outback, the band went into writing mode for their third full-length album "Awakening", and started recording in May 2011. The album has already been named by Alternative Press as one of 2011's Most Anticipated Albums. Trying to win over new fans while appeasing the old may be a difficult task for some bands, but blessthefall accept it eagerly as a challenge that they'll work toward with their forthcoming tours and releases. "There is a lot more drive since Beau has joined the band," Lambert said. "We know we have a lot to prove and we are all hungry for it."
A Chelsea Grin in soccer hooligan terminology is the act of cutting a rivals mouth with either a credit card or blade and then kicking them in the crotch so their mouth muscles split into a bloody grimace. Chelsea Grin, the band from Utah armed with THREE guitarists use a foundation of hardcore grit combined with death metal technicality and grind speed to produce as much aural harm as the back a...lley jaw split. The band is the premiere artist on Artery Recordings, a new imprint of Razor & Tie Entertainment, and are releasing their debut full-length Desolation Of Eden this February. The album will hit in the midst of the band's two month run with The Red Chord and My Children My Bride (dates on following page). Artery Recordings is the recording arm of The Artery Foundation who are the management team responsible for jumpstarting the careers of Whitechapel, The Devil Wears Prada, A Day To Remember, Attack Attack! and Impending Doom. Speaking on why Chelsea Grin get the Artery seal of approval, Eric Rushing, President of the company says "The first time I saw this band I was completely blown away and the crowd interaction was just as intense, it reminded me of the first time I saw Whitechapel. This band is very young and the kids are already loving them coast to coast. Very excited about their debut!"
Desolation Of Eden was tracked at Lambesis Studios owned by Tim Lambesis of As I Lay Dying and bares the hallmarks of Chelsea Grin's devastating live show. Songs like the title track and Sonnet Of The Wretched utilize the double bass drumming, three guitar attack, ultra low bass frequencies and wraith-like vocals into a wall of sound to devastating effect. Brutatlity aside what separates the band from many of their contemporaries according to Jaek (guitar) is "obviously our age, we are a very young band being mostly 18 and 19. I know a lot of people have an impression on metal bands is that they are big, burly dudes with beards and not very approachable. We pretty much are the opposite of that, we are always hanging out with the fans at shows because we are them! Teenagers that like heavy music and hanging out."
Age aside Chelsea Grin is made up of Alex (vocals), Michael (guitar), Andrew (drums), Dan (guitar), David (bass) and Jaek, and have completed feats that bands existing twice as long have not. Forming from the ashes of Ahaziah, Chelsea Grin got active in March 2008. "Right after we formed we recorded our first EP made up of five songs and started playing local shows. Soon after we signed to a small indie called Statik Factory and released a single called Recreant and did a small west coast tour in June of that year. The following month Statik Factory released our EP. Very quickly after that our Myspace page was getting hits from around the country and we found ourselves not only being established in Utah but kids all over were writing us and listening to us."
Speaking on the obvious development between the earlier songs and the audio crushing output of Desolation Of Eden Jaek comments "Lyrically we have matured quite a bit, when we wrote the EP a lot of our early lyrics dealt with betrayal by females that we didn't think very fondly of. A lot of younger males could relate those lyrics to ex-girlfriends, friends whatever. However after our experiences of freedom within this band, I find a lot of our songs are about breaking away from voices of authority and ultimately living life the way you want to live it. We also re-recorded our older songs Recreant and Cheyne Stokes so the brutal songs will still be there (laughs)."
Chelsea Grin has completed tours with Arsonists Get All The Girls, A Plea For Purging, American Me, Dr.Acula, Attila and Within The Ruins and shared stages with Suicide Silence, Parkway Drive, My Children My Bride. (Tour dates follow)
Since the band formed in 2005, For Today has played over 1,100 shows on 4 continents in 19 countries and released 3 albums via Facedown Records. The hardcore-influenced metal band is known for their non-stop touring, high energy live performance, and unrelenting message. For Today will stop at nothing until the name of Christ is proclaimed to the entire world.
MEMPHIS MAY FIRE have consistently pushed the envelope to redefine both themselves and the various sub-genres they've made their mark within. 2009's "Sleepwalking" full-length yielded no exception as the band ventured into the territory of Post-Hardcore / Southern Rock with no reservations. Their fresh approach to an otherwise stale scene gathered critical acclaim and found "Ghost In The Mirror" f...eatured on the both the Saw VI Soundtrack and DVD/Blu-Ray releases. Subsequent touring with the likes of Asking Alexandria, From First To Last, and Alesana facilitated the delivery of their music to the masses and established a live precedent that the band continues to build on today.
Following well-received releases on both Trustkill & Bullet Tooth, domestic/international touring success (featuring the band's first visit to Japan) and a tag as one of Revolver Magazine's "Top 25 Under 25," we're left with only one certainty; members Matt Mullins (vocals), Kellen McGregor (guitar), Ryan Bentley (guitar), Cory Elder (bass), and Jake Garland (drums) are headed somewhere fast.
In fact, it's safe to say that MEMPHIS MAY FIRE are "Sleepwalking" no longer. Their latest effort, "Between The Lies," boasts an elevated aggression that tastefully combines elements of melodic metal, southern rock, and electronics amidst a platform of carefully crafted songwriting. Existing solely in the digital realm, this EP is clearly an indication of things to come in terms of its unique dynamics & cross-genre experimentation.
Fast forward to 2011 and MEMPHIS MAY FIRE have now partnered with Rise Records as an outlet for their musical creativity. This move continues to broaden the band's reach and welcomes a new world of possibilities within the scope of their burgeoning career. MMF's high-octane live show acts as a testament to their ever-increasing identity and always leaves the audience wanting more. Expect their RISE debut to enter your lives later this spring alongside a massive touring cycle that is sure to reach your doorstep. Critics beware; MEMPHIS MAY FIRE are not only here to stay, they're paving the way.
A new breed of dark rockers is subtly taking over, stealing the hearts of a dedicated legion of fans, with a blend of intense melodic metal and a penchant for the macabre. Already fan favorites in the scene, Pennsylvania sextet Motionless In White is set to rise to the front of the pack, with the release of debut full-length Creatures.
The tale of Motionless In White's conception begins in 2005. ...Forming in Scranton, PA while still in high school, six friends – singer Chris "Motionless" Cerulli, guitarist/vocalist TJ Bell, guitarist Ryan Sitkowski, bassist Frank Polumbo, keyboardist Josh Balz, and drummer Angelo Parente - joined forces to form a band, originally playing popular rock cover songs. By 2006, they had developed their own sound, blending heavier, darker elements into melodic tracks, and gaining inspiration from the likes of The Misfits, Bleeding Through, Cradle Of Filth, Marilyn Manson and Eighteen Visions to form Motionless In White. With the release of debut EP "The Whorror", and two summers of wowing crowds with their high-octane show on dates of Vans Warped Tour, the band gained the attention of both independent and major record labels, including Fearless Records. The band signed to Fearless in December 2008, and set about recording their acclaimed second EP When Love Met Destruction, which was released in spring 2009.
Now ready to unleash their debut album Creatures, Motionless In White is poised to take centre stage in their twisted audio carnival. Creatures is a writhing behemoth of an album. Mixing gothic and industrial influences with brutal breakdowns, intense riffs and soaring choruses, the album interweaves themes of lust and revenge with the band's passion for horror movies, myths and vampire culture. From gut-punching opener "Immaculate Misconception", to Tim Burton-inspired closing track "Scissorhands (The Last Snow)", every note on Creatures has been explored to create an audio landscape that Motionless In White are thrilled to call their own. "I think we did a really good job at making this record interesting in a lot of aspects," singer Chris Motionless notes. "The last thing I wanted to do was write another band's record and call it ours. We pulled from so many different musical influences, especially with the lyrics. We put everything we had into making this record."
One of the strongest parts of Motionless In White's success story is their dedication to their fans. The band doesn't take their following's dedication lightly. The band named their full-length after their devoted fan base, which they affectionately call "Creatures", to remind their supporters that despite their differences, they are bonded by music. "I only ever wanted to be in a band because music changed my life so much, and all I wanted to be able to do the same for someone else in my own way," Chris adds. "To see all these people that are interested in this band and see them singing the words to our songs, like I used to dream would happen while I would be in a pit, screaming along to my favorite bands, is seriously mind-blowing." The band even allowed their "Creatures" to contribute to the album, creating the title track entirely of fan lyrics. "I really couldn't think of a better way to say thank you than to have our fans literally be part of this album, and to name our record after the people that are keeping us alive."
Gaining early support from all corners of the media has also been a key element in aiding Motionless In White's ascension through the ranks of the new wave of dark rock bands. The band was named as one of Alternative Press' Bands You Need To Know, is one of Revolver Magazine's Bands To Watch in the November/December 2010 issue, and has upcoming features in U.S. and international music press outlets including AOL Noisecreep, Ultimate-Guitar, AMP, Substream, Rock Sound and Kerrang!, plus horror publications Rue Morgue, Fangoria, Bloody-Disgusting and FEARnet.
The band has already toured the U.S. with the likes of Asking Alexandria, Bleeding Through, In This Moment and Drop Dead, Gorgeous, and looks forward to taking their show on the road this fall, including tours with Black Veil Brides and A Skylit Drive. "Expect to see a very honest and passionate performance every day," notes Chris. "We put a lot of time in trying to make our live show express the intensity and energy that we posses across to the crowd. I've bled, and I've screamed till my last breath, and our future shows will be no exception."
With an incredible work ethic and a dedication to practicing their craft, Motionless In White has completed their line up with the addition of new bassist Ricky Horror, and emerged as a group of stunning musicians, with a firm hold on what they want to achieve. "This band is 100% bullshit free and we want to inspire kids to stand up for themselves and not be afraid to look the way they do or say the things that they want. If I can do for one person what my favorite bands and heroes have done for me then mission accomplished."
Armed with their jaw-dropping debut album, support from the media and an impressive live show ready to take to the masses, Motionless In White is poised at the center of a perfect storm, and ready to take fans by the throat this fall. Miss them at your peril!
Creatures is out now on Fearless Records.
From its humble beginnings amid the industrial sprawl of Birmingham in the late '60s through to its digital age renaissance, British heavy metal has always thrived on regular doses of fresh blood and youthful rejuvenation. Each year new acts emerge screaming to be heard but now, spawned by the ever-vibrant London music scene, Rise To Remain have raised their voices to the sky and have become the l...atest and arguably greatest young metal band of recent times.
Brought together by a mutual desire to create exciting, state-of-the-art heavy music worthy of their passion, these fiery-eyed contenders have outgrown their humble origins as bright-eyed teenagers with dreams of fame and fortune and evolved into one of the most formidable new bands to explode out of the UK in many years.
"For me, the moment when I decided that I wanted to do it was when I walked out of an exam, my last A-level," laughs frontman Austin Dickinson. "I walked out halfway through and went and did a show that night. It's become clear over the last few months that we can take this band to the next level, so it was obviously the right decision."
A year has passed since Rise To Remain unleashed their first significant release, the 'Bridges Will Burn EP', which was initially given away free with hallowed UK metal magazine Metal Hammer. That welcome exposure, combined with a rigorous gig schedule, enabled the quintet to gain momentum and add substantially to their rapidly-expanding following. The support of the fans led to Rise To Remain waltzing off with both Metal Hammer's Best New Band award at the mag's annual Golden Gods ceremony and the Best British Newcomer award at rock bible Kerrang!'s high profile awards bash.
With expectations high and their reputation soaring, the rest of 2010 passed by in a whirlwind of live performances and feverish songwriting behind the scenes as plans for a full debut album began to fall into place. Sharing stages with everyone from fellow Brit metal crews Bring Me The Horizon and Bullet For My Valentine through to the legendary Iron Maiden, the band have dedicated themselves to paying their dues, learning their trade and grabbing every opportunity with both hands.
The end result of all their hard work and devotion to the cause is that Rise To Remain have now produced a debut album that brims with confidence and intensity, and which deserves to propel the band into the upper echelons of the UK metal scene and beyond. Created with renowned metal producer Colin Richardson manning the controls, 'City Of Vultures' is an explosive, assured and extraordinarily diverse first offering that marks Dickinson and his band mates out as extremely talented standard bearers for a new generation of metal bands.
Sleeping With Sirens is an American rock band from Orlando, Florida currently residing in Grand Rapids, Michigan, formed in 2009 by members of For All We Know, Broadway and We Are Defiance. The band is currently signed to Rise Records and has released two full-length albums, With Ears To See and Eyes To Hear and Let's Cheers To This. The first album debuted at number 7 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart, and at number 36 on Top Independent Albums. Their second album was released on May 10, 2011.
Band members:
* Gabe Barham - drums (since 2009)
* Justin Hills - bass guitar, backing vocals (since 2009)
* Jesse Lawson - rhythm guitar, backing vocals (since 2010)
* Kellin Quinn - lead vocals, piano, programming (since 2009)
Conceived in the spring of 2007, The Ghost Insideemerged with a vengeance from the Los Angeles music scene where dreams fade just as fast as they are born. The band was a fresh new start for friends Jonathan Vigil, Aaron Brooks, and Tyler Watamanuk who's former band, "A Dying Dream" had recently disintegrated after half of the members moved on. This left Vigil and company quite discouraged as they had just released an EP with hardcore heavyweights "Mediaskare Records." Fueled by their frustration, and determination to never give up, they founded The Ghost Inside and enlisted drummer KC Stockbridge, and guitarist Soyer Cole to round out the all-star lineup.
With the roster solidified and plans to conquer the world, The Ghost Inside began crafting their own unique brand of aggressive yet melodic metal/hardcore. Their collective goal was to write music that would transcend genres without boundaries, and set them apart from their peers putting them into a league of their own. All of the hard work paid off when in April of 2007; the band released their debut album entitled "Fury And The Fallen Ones" on Mediaskare Records.
After the full length was released, interest in the band intensified as they toured nonstop throughout North America with bands such as Bury Your Dead, Misery Signals, Bring Me The Horizon, Emmure, Stick To Your Guns, As Blood Runs Black, Winds Of Plague, and Sleeping Giant. In June of 2008, the band took their act overseas when they were asked to go to Australia with I Killed The Prom Queen. After a year of touring, The Ghost Inside parted ways with Soyer Cole, and suffered a brief hiccup when Tyler Watamanuk decided that life on the road was not for him and called it quits. The band quickly rallied and enlisted Garrett Harer on bass and Zach Johnson to take over guitar duties. Later that summer, The Ghost Inside was invited to be a part of the massive "Ten For Ten Tour" featuring Poison The well, Madball, Bane, Terror, and Vision Of Disorder as the headlining acts. Hammering out high- energy sets every night on this tour quickly earned the band a reputation for their intense live show and their hard-working attitude.
Coming off of a great 2 years on the road, the band gathered their new material and headed into the studio to record their follow up album entitled "Returners" which is hitting stores February 2010. Later this fall, the band heads to Europe on the "Imperial Never Say Die" Tour, followed by runs in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Their long term goal: To continue to put out new music, and tour in as many new places as possible all the while, crushing everything in their path. If you have not yet seen The Ghost Inside, you owe it to yourself to drop whatever you are doing and get to one of their shows immediately!
Vampires Everywhere! … This story is set in Los Angeles, Calif., circa 2009. The night hit the windows with the fervor of a tormented 6-year-old faced with the idea of sharing his prized, new gift. It was probably seventy degrees outside, and yet the house was frozen. I was entertaining several murderous ideas that were swimming around my mind and my brain was certainly feeling the brunt of that strain. I attempted to clear my thoughts and focus on something that gave way to a crooked smile on my face. A smile I hadn't seen since my youth, compelled by our generation's explanation of our condition, set to sound: motion pictures. One feature, in particular, has haunted me since I was of age to pronounce blood: "The Lost Boys." Like the characters, I have also always considered myself lost and trapped within a world that only embraces its own. This movie embodies everything I stand for: anarchy, vampires, youth, love & revenge. Since revenge fueled and fulfilled me, this movie fit like a glove and I began to drift off to a place comprised with everything that made me happy and pure. I was a step closer to discovering myself, my purpose. In order to bridge such a beautiful gap, I was forced out into creation to find those damned souls, like me, who found pieces of themselves in misery, loathing and self-destruction.My own coven of darkness. These individuals embraced their potential insanity, and we found comfort in one another's uncertainty. The Los Angeles lost souls, Aaron Graves and Zak Night, brought their free spirits and aggressive musical style into my new coven. They created the background of sound that fueled the fire within me. J Killa, unfulfilled by Pittsburgh blood, joined my army, bringing his venomous keyboard tones and synth-driven vocals that proved to be the amplification our brotherhood needed. He provided the coveted pop I thirsted for in my destruction. Alex & David Hernandez completed the group during our brief stint in Florida. The blood brothers added the bass & percussion to complete the sound of Vampires Everywhere! The crew was hungry with an insatiable thirst capable of destroying an unforgiving crowd. My vision of darkness had found completion in this group oh loving, hating, hungry and undeniably talented, loyal followers. The mood was now set for a revolution in music. It is now time to take the scene's clean-cut, "Disney" image and shed some blood on it … my way. The world will discover a new savior in our sound and we all shall use a new name to provide humor in anarchy: Vampires Everywhere! Inspired by the comic book in The Lost Boys movie. The concept and revolution has begun … and love it or hate it, its here to stay. I was undead before the trend & shall remain so forever.
Musical trends come and go, but the bands who stick around are the ones who eschew whatever's popular in favor of playing the music that's in their hearts—and Kingston, Pennsylvania's Title Fight are a perfect example of this. Originally formed in 2003 by guitarist/vocalist Jamie Rhoden and the twin brother duo of vocalist/bassist Ned Russin and drummer Ben Russin when the trio were barely teenagers, Title Fight started as a way for these young kids to explore their burgeoning love of hardcore. But after adding guitarist Shane Moran in 2005, something funny happened: Their tireless practicing eventually transformed them into one of the most exciting hardcore acts in recent memory.
After releasing a handful of EPs and 7-inches as well as performing shows all over the world, Title Fight began attracting attention from fans and labels who were captivated by the way the band managed to put a modern spin on the melodic hardcore sound pioneered by acts like Gorilla Biscuits and Lifetime—and in 2010 the members of Title Fight dropped out of college in order to tour full-time with acts such as New Found Glory, Four Year Strong and H20. It was also around this time that the band entered the studio with Gorilla Biscuits/Quicksand guitarist Walter Schreifels who agreed to produce the band and promptly drove down to Northeastern Pennsylvania to help them prepare to record their highly anticipated full-length debut Shed.
"The cool thing about Walter is that when we came to him he told us he doesn't produce a lot of records because he's a full-time musician himself, so he only works with bands he really likes and hearing that was a huge compliment because he's one of our biggest inspirations," Ned Russin explains. "We were really up front about the fact that we wanted to feel in control with our music so he really just let us do our thing but came up with some helpful suggestions without trying to transform us into something we aren't," he continues when asked about Schreifels' role in the process. "He came down and stayed at Ned and Ben's parents' house and we just hashed it all out in Jamie's parents' basement."
From there the band headed to Philadelphia to record Shed over a grueling two-week period at the legendary Studio 4. However all those long nights paid off as Shed sees the band implementing various subgenres that range from old-school hardcore to aggressive punk rock that make these twelve energetic anthems instant classics for a new generation of listeners searching for music that inspires them as much as Title Fight were inspired by their heroes. "We wrote the last record when we were in high school and since then
we've dropped out of school, seen the world and had life experiences that are all reflected here," Ned Russin explains when asked what it's been like to sacrifice everything to make Shed a reality.
From the Hot Water Music-esque power of "27" to the old-school feel of "You Can't Say Kingston Doesn't Love You," Shed is also a remarkably varied record that proves hardcore doesn't need to be formulaic in order to be powerful. "The most important thing is that this is a Title Fight record," Ned Russin summarizes, "we're not trying to pose and be anything we're not." Moran concurs adding, "we're not a surface level band, we're the kind of act who likes to dig a little deeper and we're really interested in learning about the history of punk and hardcore to find the stuff that really speaks to us on a personal level."
Speaking of personal, Shed also features some of the band's most heartfelt lyrics to date—a fact that is largely due to the life-changing experiences the band have endured, both good and band since their previous recordings. "This album was a lot more collaborative from a lyrical perspective and instead of being about girls, it's about real life situations," Ned Russin says. "Throughout the past few years my grandmother passed away and my dad had reconstructive heart surgery so a lot has been on my mind and Title Fight has always been a great release for me to get out what's bottled up inside," he continues. "We just tried to be as sincere as we possibly could and write songs about what was important to us at the time."
Ultimately this sentiment has always remained at the core of Title Fight and it's one of the reasons why so many fans have gravitated toward the band's music despite the fact that they don't have any fancy costumes or onstage gimmicks. "I think we have a unique dynamic because we can always play a hardcore show with our friends in a basement but we can also play a show with more commercial bands on a larger scale and be accepted in both situations," Moran explains.
"We've been a band for seven years and this is the first time we've had a recording that's longer than seven minutes long," Ned Russin adds. "The last year has been a crazy ride but the whole time we've always stayed true to the fact that we're not trying to be anything we're not," he summarizes. "We're four friends that play in a band together and we would still be doing this whether we were playing to five people or five hundred of them."
"Spent all my life/Waiting for a moment to come" - "Killing Time"
Bayside lead singer/rhythm guitarist and founding member Anthony Raneri has been waiting 10 years—since he formed the rock group in Queens, N.Y. in the winter of 2000—to make an album like Killing Time, which represents a number of firsts for the band named after his hometown.
The album is the band's debut for new label Wind-up Re...cords after four releases on Chicago-based indie Victory Records, including Sirens and Condolences (2004), Bayside (2005), The Walking Wounded (2007) and Shudder (2008), steadily growing their following through tireless touring. Recording their latest at Dreamland Studios in Woodstock, N.Y., and Water Music in Hoboken, N.J., with renowned producer Gil Norton [Foo Fighters, Counting Crows, Pixies, Jimmy Eat World], Bayside finally had the time and resources to fulfill their creative vision.
The group turns Raneri's acoustic songs into full-blown, deceptively complex rock epics that touch on bitter endings (like that of his marriage on the first single, "Sick, Sick, Sick," and the angry, full-throttle rocker "The Wrong Way"), fresh starts ("The New Flesh"), band camaraderie ("It's Not a Bad Little War," "Sinking and Swimming on Long Island") and even a hopeful ballad, complete with a 20-piece orchestra and a horn section ("On Love, On Life").
"This is a new chapter, a new beginning for us," acknowledges guitarist Jack O'Shea, who joined the band in 2003 and has played on all five of their albums. "This feels like our debut release. Gil really encouraged us to push the boundaries of what we do, and not to become timid. Having that kind of encouragement from someone so accomplished really gave us the confidence to be more creative."
One can hear that in O'Shea's various guitar sounds, from the Dick Dale/Link Wray surf guitar rumble which opens "Already Gone," to the gnarled, twisted solos in "Sick Sick, Sick" and "It's Not a Bad Little War," to the pneumatic rush of "Sinking and Swimming on Long Island" or the frenetic jam that ends "The Wrong Way."
"We wanted to make a big, detailed record, but still retain the pop sensibility that makes us who we are," states Raneri about the studio process. "Gil helped us stay on an aggressive rock track without losing sight of the music's commercial appeal, its ability to get on the radio. To achieve that balance was the plan."
For Bayside, the rest of its career leading to this moment feels like Killing Time, according to Raneri. "We had the time, the producer, the label to support it and fans who are ready to hear it. Everything was in place for us to make our masterpiece."
Indeed, Killing Time takes everything Bayside has learned in its decade in the music business and puts it on display for all to hear. On "Mona Lisa," another song Raneri wrote about his ex ("Someday, I'll forgive you/But it still hasn't happened yet"), he tried an experiment in writing. "I half-jokingly call it my greatest accomplishment," he laughs. "It was an attempt to write a song with as many chromatic key changes in it as possible, without it sounding like mathematics. I was sure it would never make the album, but everyone seemed to love it."
There are also glimpses of the hard road Bayside has traveled to this point in "It's Not a Bad Little War," a song about being on the front lines and trenches with your bandmates ("We are the only friends we ever had"), and "Sinking and Swimming on Long Island," about all the ones that got left behind ("The harder you work/The harder you fall/You wake up one day/With nothing at all").
"Seeing Sound" has an operatic, almost Queen-like vibe, reflecting Raneri's own love of Broadway show tunes, while the dramatic "On Love, On Life," is driven by piano and acoustic guitar, with pop tunesmiths Bacharach and David and Welsh crooner Tom Jones as the touchstones. The title track shows off the band's metal chops, with ominous Blue Oyster Cult overtones.
"I really think this album has the best elements of all our previous releases," says O'Shea, whose own guitar heroes include metal speedsters like Metallica's Kirk Hammett and Megadeth's Dave Mustaine as well as Slash, along with such jazz-rock muss as Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Allan Holdsworth, Al DiMelola and John McLaughlin. "It's the most representative of what we've always gone for as a band. It encompasses what our fans like best about us."
With 10 songs weighing in at 38 minutes, there is no filler on Killing Time, an album, while not a concept, with songs that are organically connected and of a piece, like Green Day's American Idiot or Nirvana's Nevermind.
"We were trying to make the perfect album," says Anthony. "We've been trying to make this record for 10 years. We finally had all the elements we needed to do it. We wanted these to be the 10 best songs we've ever written."
"Now I don't ask for much/But this could define a lifetime" - "It's Not a Bad Little War"
"Everything has been leading up until right now," says Anthony. "Killing Time is about new beginnings, changes. This is our moment, the album we were supposed to make. A lot of bands that came up with us, we've watched form, get signed, get huge and then disappear. And we're still here…People continue to listen and care. We're living the dream."
On Killing Time, that dream becomes reality.
"We're all just excited about the possibilities of what the next year holds for us," concludes Jack. "We've always approached our career with a cautious optimism. We hope for the best, but we're OK with whatever happens. We roll with the punches…but this time it all seems so much more tangible."
Listening to a new Senses Fail album is a lot like reconnecting with an old friend—although there's a comforting, indefinable familiarity within all of the New Jersey-based post-hardcore quintet's records, each new creation is a fleeting snapshot of the lives of its makers, indelibly capturing the things that meant the most during your mutual time apart. The band's third full-length release, Life ...Is Not A Waiting Room, is no exception. Having the unenviable task of following 2006's crushing Still Searching, the album showcases the face-melting musicianship and soul-baring lyricism that define Senses Fail. Once again produced by helmsman Brian McTernan (Thrice, Circa Survive) and recorded in Baltimore, MD, at his Salad Days studio, Life boasts a towering sound akin to a roundhouse kick to the skull. "This is the most fun we've ever had as a band," says singer James "Buddy" Nielsen. "I think we were feeling a lot less pressure this time around, but you've always got to do your best." The New Jersey-based group formed six years ago and released their debut EP, From the Depths of Dreams, in 2002. 2004's Let It Enfold You—their first full-length—was followed by Still Searching, which debuted at 15 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. To date, Senses Fail have performed multiple worldwide tours and their catalog sales have reached over 850,000, yet the band continue to evolve. Although in many ways Life picks up seamlessly where Searching left off, the new album has very distinct, unique qualities, most notably its lyrical content. While Searching wrestled with issues regarding religion and depression, Life is centered squarely on a crumbling relationship, and the desire to see meaningful change. "A lot of this record is written about the recent break up I had with a long-time girlfriend, the first person I have ever been in love with, and someone I spent a lot of time and shared my transition from kid to adult," explains Nielsen. "The other elements of the record consist of regrets and how they can leave a burning hole in your soul; how the past is something you can't change….There are also bright moments where I find myself coming to terms with those very facts, and in knowing the problem you can then be proactive and change." Life also marks the addition of new bassist Jason Black (formerly of Hot Water Music), who replaces the departed Mike Glita. Meanwhile, guitarists Garrett Zablocki and Heath Saraceno (formerly of Midtown) have grown into one of the most scorching six-string tandems around; Life features more of the nimble harmonies showcased on Searching, but this time the duo took it one step further, with some truly shred-a-riffic leads, such as those heard on "Lungs Like Gallows" and "Garden State." Another rocker, "Wolves At The Door," was so intense that it even garnered a coveted spot within the soundtrack for the best-selling Madden NFL '09 video game. Kicking off with the rich, moody "Fireworks At Dawn," Life roars and pummels its way through the album's 12 tracks without the slightest pause for filler, delivering an absolute haymaker just four tracks in with "Family Tradition," which features the band's signature blend of dark and melodic. Nielsen's words are as insightful as they are meaningful. "I find myself at times doing things to live up to other peoples' expectations, or cutting myself down because I assume that will make me look more humble to the world," says Nielsen. "So this song is one part a reaction to that, and also about following the footsteps of a family member you don't really know, but who has had a huge influence on you." Perhaps the most heart-wrenching moments of all come via the two-part song cycle of "Yellow Angels" and "Four Years," which were inspired by a terminally ill fan named Marcel, who befriended Nielsen at an SF show in Dallas, TX. Nielsen remained in contact with the 18-year-old, who was stricken with cancer of the soft tissue of his face, and endured many painful surgeries and treatments in order to attempt to fend off tumors that were growing in vital areas such as his eyes, nose and throat. When Marcel's mother notified Nielsen of her son's worsening condition, the singer flew to Texas, where he spent a great deal of time with this incredibly courageous young man, during the final days of his tragically short life. "It was one of the most intense and stirring times in my life. The sheer pain this 18-year-old boy was in was mind blowing, yet his optimistic outlook and sense of humor was steadfast," Nielsen recalls. "This kid changed my life and although he is no longer with us, he lives on everyday in the pictures I took with him, to remind myself that life is never as bad as you think it is. So 'Yellow Angels' is my reaction to meeting Marcel and how I needed to live in the moment and love myself and life. 'Four Years,' on the other hand, is about being influenced by such a life-changing [experience] and having to make new decisions about my relationship and what it really was." The album's title is a succinct, encapsulating statement as to its thematic thrust. Life Is Not A Waiting Room is just as much revelation as it is reflection; the sum total of every ounce of pain, fear, hope and joy that the record exudes. "I felt I had been living as if I was waiting for something to happen, but I know that is the wrong way to live—it just doesn't promote any sort of happiness," Nielsen concludes. "The title sums up the direction I want to go in, and what I want to get away from, and it's a cry to everyone else to stop living like I have." Just like the rest of us, Nielsen's struggle is far from over. But one thing is certain: SF have once again delivered their message with both passion and fury. All one has to do is listen with their ears and heart open—just as an old friend would.
Rising out of New England's surging post-hardcore scene, Vanna have emerged with intense brutality to stake their claim at the forefront of the genre. With relentless touring, an inexorable passion for music and an army of dedicated fans by their side, the band has clawed their way out from the underground to debut their first full-length album, Curses; A sonically ferocious album that features the group's unique blend of blistering metal and cathartic melody.
Polar Bear Club is an American post-hardcore/indie rock band from Syracuse, upstate New York. Formed in 2005, the band currently consists of vocalist Jimmy Stadt, lead guitarist Chris Browne, rhythm guitarist Nate Morris, bass guitarist Erik Michael "Goose" Henning and drummer Emmett Menke.
Sometimes things just feel and sound right. We Are The In Crowd, the foursome from Poughkeepsie, NY formed in 2009 and caught the interest of independent label, Hopeless Records early on. The band, made up of Tay Jardine (vocals), Jordan Eckes (guitar/vocals), Mike Ferri (bass), and Rob Chianelli (drums), used their talent and ingenuity to propel themselves into the hearts of many. Instead of relying on image and sugar-coated, meaningless lyrics, We Are The In Crowd focused on one goal. "We really try and tell a story," says vocalist Taylor Jardine.
To begin that story, We Are The In Crowd recorded their debut Hopeless Records' single, "For The Win". Using a unique combination of both male and female vocals, Taylor and Jordan have created honest, emotional pop rock songs that embody everything that you want to say but don't know how. "Our lyrics are straightforward, we write about situations that we go through, and it really resonates with fans." This honest depiction of young adult trials and tribulations has helped We Are The In Crowd gain a rabid fan base that hangs on every word and every chord, just waiting to hear the next chapter in their story.
Consider pop punk defended. Man Overboard, the four-piece outfit out of New Jersey, have made a statement with their debut full length Real Talk that is much harder, faster, and louder than a catchy, often-quoted band mantra. While the band's previous material has been extremely enjoyable, climbing to the most coveted parts of my iTunes play counts, their latest offering is their first real spoonful of pop punk. Dual vocalists Zac Eiestenstein and Nik Bruzzese are more aggressive on Real Talk, and their vocals are paced by dirtier-sounding guitars, contributing to a more punk-influenced style. As an overwhelming initial wave of support shows, I'm in the same boat of thinking as most Man Overboard fans when I welcome the new style. It's the exact direction I was hoping this band would take, and the direction that they needed to take to back up their mantra. It's safe to say that Man Overboard have not only defended the genre, but have exceeded all expectations in the process.
In a world where some bands are handed everything on a silver platter, there's also a place where there's still some hardworking folks left. Boston's own pop-punk outfit, A Loss For Words are at the top of that list. Having released 3 EPs and their full length "The Kids Can't Lose" since 2005, they are a group with unstoppable dedication, hard work, and creativity. A Loss For Words have been regarded by members of Bayside, Four Year Strong and Bane as the hardest working band out there right now. Some people are going to ask what being a hardworking band even means anymore, and those questions are warranted. In a world where Myspace plays have somehow become more important than heart, the line that separates the real from the manufactured has become more than a little blurry. A Loss For Words know where they stand in this sea of blurred lines. A Loss For Words are out there on the road touring ten months out of every year. Not only are they out there playing shows, but are watching younger bands, pushing CD's in the parking lot, shaking hands and putting on one of the most sweat-soaked and honest sets you can find. A Loss For Words sees the wall that stands between them and success and they're not stupid. They know that maybe with some cool haircuts and electric drums there might be an easier way around it, but they've picked the path they've always known, breaking away at the concrete with their bare hands and it shows. I challenge you to find another unsigned band with these achievements: toured with Four Year Strong, Set Your Goals and Polar Bear Club, sold 6000 copies of a record that no one helped them put out, and that went to Japan on a 100% DIY agenda. With A Loss For Words, the guarantee is that no matter what town you live in, these guys will be there this year ready to shake your hand, hang out, rock out and have a good time.
Funeral Party is a five-piece band that formed late one night in a park. Hardcore bands and metal bands dominated the local music scene at the time in Whittier, California, an East Los Angeles suburb comprised of mostly working-class enclaves. In the East Los Angeles neighborhoods adjacent to Whittier however, a post-punk dance-craze revival was emerging and Funeral Party began gigging every weekend.
The band quickly developed a following and a D.I.Y. ethos that encapsulated East Los Angeles' rich musical history. Initially, the band didn't even own equipment and had to borrow it from bands they played with at East Los Angeles backyard parties and warehouses. Funeral Party quickly achieved a mythic stature in the Los Angeles underground. Lars Stalfors, engineer for Mars Volta, invited the band to record in Volta's studio in East L.A. The sessions yielded "Chalice", which immediately became East L.A.'s theme song and could be heard bumping on iPods throughout Southern California. What is unique about Funeral Party is the band's universal appeal; there exist numerous infusions in their music. This band is crucially important as they have created a visceral music that encapsulates the experiences of contemporary youth.
Funeral Party's sound is shaped by disparate realities, manifested in the band's musical approach.For booking information, contact Creative Artists Agency.
Born and raised in Passaic County, New Jersey, Justina grew up surrounded by music. Justina's hip hop infused pop music is clearly a voice for the rebellious youth and her distinctive, raspy tone is hard to miss. Her strong and sometimes abrasive character, along with her fun-loving personality, is evident in tracks like the JR Rotem and Shy Boogs produced "Gangsta" and the Mr. Lee produced "Gloves Off". An avid supporter of writing her own music, Justina is a breath of fresh air in an industry where an artist's point of view is sometimes hidden. Justina's original composition, "Gotta Make a Change", was selected for ShopRite's Partners in Caring 'Expressions of Hunger' national contest and she was featured on the back of General Mill's Cheerios box in September 2010.She has performed at numerous venues including The Market America International Conventions in Miami, FL and Greensboro, NC (for crowds of 30k), The Susan G. Komen for the Cure 'Babes Burnin' Rubber' breast cancer benefit at Motorsports Park Millville, NJ, The China Club, 40/40, and the Atlantic City's Pepsi Car Show. Justina's music has also been featured on popular television shows such as NBC'S Steven Spielberg directed "Smash", VH1's "Mob Wives", Oxygen Network's "Runnin Russell Simmons", and MTV's "True Life". Her video, 'Hard to the Body', recently appeared on Spike TV's "Top 100 YouTube Videos". Fresh off of signing her deal with SRC/Universal, she is about to release her upcoming mixtape, "Route 80", produced by Shy Boogs, Skitzo & Ryan & Smitty.
What do you get when a Pulitzer Prize WInner, a Nobel Laureate, a Rhodes Scholar, and a Robot all get together and form a band?
This is a question I Fight Dragons would love to know the answer to, along with other important questions like, "what is purple, really?" and "how much brains could a zombiechuck chuck if a zombiechuck could exist a posteriori?"
In the meanwhile, I Fight Dragons conten...t themselves with playing melodic rock-and-roll type music, which they integrate seamlessly with chiptune. For those of you not in the proverbial 'know,' 'chiptune' is new music created on 'obsolete' video game 'soundcards' such as the Nintendo Gameboy. Now you're in the 'know.' Welcome. It's nice here and the bathrooms are in the back to the left if you need them.
In the biographical sense, all 5 members of I Fight Dragons hail from Chicago. In the spiritual sense, they also hail from Chicago. However, in the metaphorical sense, only 4 of them hail from Chicago, while Packy hails from Outer Space (by way of Chicago).
I Fight Dragons are boldly questing forward on a sonic adventure toward total world domination. If that sounds a little intimidating, then they can scale it back a bit and focus on continental domination, or even just tri-county domination if that's still a bit much for you.
The new I Fight Dragons album "KABOOM!" has a lot of capital letters, not to mention an exclamation point, which makes it very exhausting to pronounce, but quite invigorating to listen to. It is a Photo Finish / Atlantic Records release (wha!?!?), and serves as the culmination of their earlier sonic endeavors undertaken with their first two EPs, 2009's "Cool Is Just A Number" and 2010's "Welcome To The Breakdown."
All in all, I Fight Dragons are really interesting. I mean, like, REALLY interesting. So go tell your friends about them. Or if you don't have friends, tell your mom. Say hi to her for me. She'll know who you mean. Trust me. Fine, she probably won't know who you mean. So then maybe you can build a robot and tell the robot. If said robot responds to you then you could probably win a Turing prize or something and I Fight Dragons deserves half the money, so please send it to them with a Self Adressed Stamped Envelope (SASE) and 4 boxtops from Cinnamon Toast Crunch(™) cereal to redeem your prize.
Seriously, go tell someone, quit reading this crap. Dragons OUT.
Despite a year where new youngsters took over, there was only one who could be named MTV's "Hottest Breakthrough MC of 2011." That emcee is ... Bad Boy signee, Machine Gun Kelly.
Since dropping his 2010 mixtape Lace Up, the Cleveland-bred rapper has built a cult-following that eventually helped him attract all the major labels, all of which were courting MGK. In the end, it was Diddy and Bad Boy that landed the buzzing young artist.
MGK beat out the likes of Lil Twist and Mac Miller, as well as A$AP Rocky, Future, French Montana, Freddie Gibbs, Kendrick Lamar, Meek Mill and Roscoe Dash.
"He has just such a movement, just hundreds and thousands of loyal fans that came from the place he came from, in different parts of the country," Diddy gushed during a "RapFix Live" appearance. "He wasn't always the coolest kid in school, and just the process of growing up and the problems that they all encounter, they relate to him in such a way."
MTV said that Lil Twist, who finished in the #2 spot with 39 percent of the vote, was MGK's most formidable competition, thanks to his die-hard fans, Young Money team and best friend Justin Bieber, who all tweeted in support.
After earning the honor, MGK Skyped with MTV, graciously accepting the title.
"I can't explain how grateful I am for all those kids who sat there and got in voting circles and sat there for hours and hours and did votes upon votes," MGK said of his fans, who voted for him in the week-long poll. "I know that we have probably the least amount of fans, but like I told my fans: Heart is always gonna prevail over connections and who these people know and who tweets what."
Next thing on MGK's list is his upcoming Lace Up album, which has yet to receive a release date. For more info, keep it locked to MGKLaceUp.com.
The Echo Generation: children of the Baby Boomers. "Music is the movement of sound to reach the soul for the education of its virtue." -Plato
Echo Movement is about love. It's about a passion to learn, communicate and appreciate life's opportunities. It's a recognition of the ability to choose your level of involvement in humanity. It's respect for the earth and our global community and an honor to the pursuit of happiness. It's a shrine to the human range of emotions. It's an expression of music, culture and freedom. Echo Movement is about love, and that is all you need.
Brothers Steve and Dave grew Echo Movement from their Jersey Shore roots. They merged local beach culture with island and world music to create a unique blend they call "surf, reggae, soca." They set out to represent the rapidly-growing global mindset of the current "Echo Generation" from which they took their name.
Echo Movement proves the new generation is built on independent accomplishments. Their songs are often about the integrity of the individual and their ability to take on any challenge while still remaining a part of the community. With fans across the world, Echo Movement stands as a living, breathing manifestation of its own honor.
The music is packed with energy, the lyrics are universal and the hooks are infectious. iTunes hails Echo Movement as "a cohesive blend of roots reggae and pop songwriting smarts."
G-Eazy has an agenda. For the last couple of years he's been trying to finish school while building up a grassroots fan-base across the US. Schooled in the bay, tested in New Orleans, G isn't a stranger to paying dues. His live shows have turned heads from the smallest of Midwest clubs all the way up to arenas on dates with Lil Wayne, Big Sean, and Drake, among others.
Without label support G ha...s trekked across the US on multiple tours breaking hearts with his James Dean meets hip-hop vibe and unforgettable live shows. It's not hype. It's not a hit. It's not an image. It's all of the above, the product of diligence that only a true fan understands; G reinterprets what he loves, not what everyone wants to hear, but in 2011 its looking like those two paths are starting to merge.
G's been a fixture on the local New Orleans rap scene for a few years and more recently in the music blogosphere, but in the last few months his popularity has surged and as his national profile has grown exponentially. His latest mixtape, The Endless Summer, produced Runaround Sue, who's sun stroked throwback video garnered over 100,000 plays on Youtube in less than a week. But it all comes back to the live show, one New Orleans music blogger summed it up with, "the young crowd was reaching the levels of mass hysteria reserved for the 50s and 60s rock 'n' roll legends to whom G-Eazy has been paying so much homage..."
Stepdad is an Electronic Pop band based in Grand Rapids, MI. Originally a duo, they formed in the summer of 2009 when roommates, ultramark and Ryan McCarthy, began writing songs together in their Chicago apartment. In 2010 they released their debut EP "Ordinaire" which spawned 2 singles, Jungles and My Leather, My Fur, My Nails. They recently recorded their debut album with producer Chris Zane who is known for his work with Passion Pit, Mumford and Sons, & The Walkmen.
The Constellations could have called their debut album After Hours. Sure, Martin Scorsese already used that name for his 1985 black comedy, but the two works share much in common. Both are wide screen spectacles rife with seedy scenes and eccentric personalities, propelled by a manic energy that hustles the audience deeper into the unexpected. But Southern Gothic was a better choice. Because The C...onstellations stomping ground is Atlanta, GA, and in the wee small hours of the morning, A-Town can get awfully bizarre.
The record is all about what happens in Atlanta from 2 AM until noon. Your tour guide on this madcap adventure is the magnetic frontman and vocalist Elijah Jones, the ringleader of the twisted circus that is The Constellations, who spent two years writing and recording the album with producer Ben H. Allen (Animal Collective, Gnarls Barkley), along with some storied cronies from the local scene. Not that they set out with specific intentions. Far from it. "All of us wanted to do a record about Atlanta, but we never said it in words," recalls Jones. "But the deeper we got into it, the more we realized we were writing a concept album."
Atlanta has been providing the backdrop and soundtrack for Jones life since childhood. Now he wanted to share his hometown's underbelly with the rest of the world. "Atlanta is a huge city, but it still has a small town feel to it," explains the singer. "Everybody knows everybody, you run into the same people at the same bars every week. So it's still kind of Mayberry, but with all the yummy stuff that comes along with being a big city—and all the bad stuff, too."
"Atlanta is strange," he adds, "because we're all basically pushed together." The hip-hop heads, punk rockers, and indie kids all rub shoulders and mix it up. Southern Gothic reflects that inclusive diversity in its far-reaching sound. "The record was designed to sound lyrically and melodically very thought out, and sonically very disorganized," comments Allen. One expects nothing less from a singer who cites Tom Waits and Cee-Lo of Goodie Mob and Gnarls Barkley as his musical heroes, working with a producer who name-checks Fela Kuti and Gorillaz among their record's key influences.
Check out the centerpiece, "Step Right Up (A Tribute To Tom Waits)." The foundation of this delirious nine-minutes-and-change comes from a cut on Waits' 1976 classic Small Change. But it mutated along the way, with customized lyrics about the ATL. In this cavalcade of neon lights and shady characters, no names have been changed, because no one is innocent. Jones beckons the listener to keep up as he lurches from the Clermont Lounge to the Drunken Unicorn and beyond, his carnival bark underpinned with dizzy disco whorls and eddies, and anchored by a soulful chorus of irresistible exhortations. The extended percussion jam that caps the track calls down an ecstatic abandon on par with LCD Soundsystem. More cowbell? You don't have to ask twice.
Yet there are many twists and turns ahead of "Step Right Up." The eleven-song set kicks off with "Setback," a psychedelic freak-out of wiggling synthesizers and vintage organ, shot through with a nasal drawl reminiscent of Beastie Boys, and a wordless chorus that won't let go. For the salacious funk number "Felicia," Jones drew inspiration from the laidback '70s vignettes of Iggy Pop and Lou Reed. "December" opens with a baroque snippet a la some lost minuet, but detours into '60s folk rock harmonies as it picks up momentum.
The band's name refers to the myriad musicians from the regional scene who either contributed to making Southern Gothic, or have since played in The Constellations live band. One luminary who drops in is Cee-Lo, whose verse on the electro-rocker "Love Is A Murder" prompted a completely overhaul the track underneath.
Another guest is suburban rapper Asher Roth, lending his playful rhymes to "We're Here To Save The Day," among the disc's most insidious moments. On the one hand, this ditty's sound is pure sing-along bliss, with a gleeful chorus delivered by Elijah's niece and nephew. Yet at the same time, Jones and Roth drop rhymes that lampoon commercial top 40 hip-hop and chest-thumping poseurs.
Because Southern Gothic was created on the artists' own time and own dime, as an experimental studio project, no thought was initially given to recreating the songs live. No, that only came after it turned out there was plenty of demand for The Constellations to do exactly that. "We'd put in fifty billion handclaps and shakers, all kinds of crazy stuff," admits Jones. "That's why we have eight band members." Although the line-up would go through numerous changes, today its stable core finds Jones accompanied by a five-piece combo and the non-stop shimmy, shout and wail of two female back-up singers.
Well before The Constellations had settled into its current incarnation, their explosive shows were selling out all over the city. Wes Hoffman had been putting on parties at Atlanta hot spot Star Bar, and booked one the earliest Constellations gigs. "The first thing I noticed was the freshness of the music," he remembers. Lyrics about Atlanta made things more appealing. But the key was seeing how fired up the crowd got. "I knew this band was on to something from how people responded." When the group told him they couldn't play a subsequent gig because their bassist was unavailable, Hoffman stepped in and learned the bass parts himself. He's been part on the team ever since.
You don't need an in-depth knowledge of the 404 to appreciate Southern Gothic. One of The Constellations' biggest markets outside Georgia is Milwaukee. Their songs may reference specific sites, but the appeal is universal. Perhaps because we all know characters like these. And Jones, who grew up singing in the church and whose father was a Baptist deacon, recognizes how to exploit the tension between dark and light in everyone's life. "People ask me, 'How can you be into this weird after hours scene, coming from a Christian background?' But you can't just write about the good in life. There's some bad shit in the human heart, and that part of it is just a little more interesting to me."
Throw rock, reggae, punk, and pop into a blender, power it up and you get Ballyhoo!, acclaimed by fans to be "America's-Favorite-Feel-Good-Party-Band." It's hard to argue with the masses, but these road-warriors have tirelessly toured to bring their music to the people. Between the road and the studio, Ballyhoo! has crafted a sound distinctly their own; fresh, fun, and embodied by the soul of the party lifestyle. Lead singer and guitarist, Howi Spangler, has a reputation for mixing slick lyrics with his smooth but powerful voice. Drummer Donald "Big D" Spangler lays out the hard-hitting beats, which are underlined by JR Gregory's funky and witty bass lines. Scott Vandrey (aka DJ Blaze) rounds it out on the turntables and keys.
BALLYHOO!'s unique sound, hardcore devotion to the road and their fans has pitched them into snowballing success. After concluding the Last Calls and Liabilities tour with respected contemporaries, Pepper, they were honored with being included on the ever-popular 2011 Hollister Holiday Playlist. Ballyhoo! has toured with a myriad of the genre's biggest names; Authority Zero, The Expendables, 311, and The Supervillains. In Jan 2011, they got a well-deserved nod from LAW Records and were signed to the Hawaii-based independent record label. Yesod Williams of the dub rock music mega-sensation PEPPER and owner of LAW Records says of his newest addition, "Having BALLYHOO! join the LAW Records family is a perfect fit. They are an incredibly talented band with a really catchy style". 2011 has been a paramount year for Ballyhoo! as they wrap up the year with a few holiday bashes.
Champagne Champagne- Seattle's own punk-rap-shoegazers, backroom brown hornets, vibrate higher in their magnetic blackness. Two MC's: Pearl Dragon, lifer-a smoke-breathing hood Jim Morrison- and Sir Thomas Gray, the hyperactivated game-gifted trouble man. One producer/multi-instrumentalist DJ Gajamagic (AKA Mark Gadjahar, drummer/founding member of defunct Seattle posthardcore institution The Blo...od Brothers, current backbone to Past Lives and Weekend) – master of dark arts, road-trip Macgyver, and sound systems savage. Together they "outrap and outparty everyone" (via Seattle Weekly), drink greenrooms dry, and smash packed clubs and sweaty basements alike with their afrofuturist afterparty music- rejecting easy classifications, broke groupies, and bammer weed. Just picture The Cure, Cody ChesnuTT and Cannibal Ox at a Pabst-soaked jam in a haunted mansion. Now picture The 'Pagne burning it the fuck down. Yeah, you got it.
Riverside, CA native hip-pop artist T. Mills announces the Leaving Home EP available December 13th on Columbia Records via all digital retailers. The 6 track EP includes the playeriffic new single "Van's On", the infectious new track "The Boom", and production by J Hawk, Colin Munroe and The Stereotypes. "T. Mills is a true testament to the 'Playlist Generation' unbound by genre", Ruddy from iHipHop.com states "This kid right here is what I think the evolution of hip hop is & a perfect example of #LetDatYoungBoyCook." DJ Z from DJBooth.net agrees "T. Mills has the crossover capabilities to become a household name, his sound and style have universal appeal and his material is pure ear candy. If you're not familiar with his name or his music yet, that will soon change." Following recent sold-out shows at NYC's Highline Ballroom and Webster Hall, Mills will headline LA's The Roxy for the Leaving Home EP release show on December 15th. The event will be streamed live on www.tmillsmusic.com that evening. The music video for "Vans On" directed by Bernard Gourley (M.I.A, Cassie, Taio Cruz, Clipse ft. Kanye West) shoots later this month and will premiere in January. Fans can stream the new song "The Boom" from the Leaving Home EP on AOL.com starting today.Fans who purchase the Leaving Home EP from T. Mills official website www.tmillsmusic.com will also receive additional songs with their download.T. Mills is currently in the studio finishing up his full-length album to be released on Columbia Records in early 2012.Leaving Home EP tracklist is as follows: 1. Vans On 2. Leaving Home 3. The Boom 4. LA It Down 5. Can't Take Ur Eyes Off Me 6. Hollywood
Tomorrows Bad Seeds, "leaders of the new school" is a five piece American band from Hermosa Beach, California formed in 2004. Their Southern California influences helped yield their unparalleled sound. A coalition of rock and reggae, punk and blues, beats and riffs. From break dancing to spinning tracks these boys emerged into multi-cultural musical phenomenon with a cause. Tomorrows Bad Seeds aims to be a fundamental development in the reproduction of conscious music worldwide! Meet the Seeds: Moises Juarez (lead vocals), Sean Chapman (vocals/guitar), Mathew McEwan (vocals/guitar), Patrick Salmon (drums), and Andre Davis (bass).January of 2011 began with an ignited fire. TBS started the year off by filming a music video for their fan loved song "Reflect". Days later on January 12 they filmed their first national TV appearance for The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson which aired March 3, 2011. By the end of January TBS headed out for a four week tour with the legendary Wailers. Within days of the tour ending they teamed up with Katchafire and stayed on the road. Tomorrows Bad Seeds live shows provides a high-energy mix of rock, soul, pop, punk, reggae and hip hop guaranteed to move and inspire your soul. Since the band's inception, they have shared the stage with the likes of UB40, 311, Slightly Stoopid, Pennywise, Pepper, The Wailers, Steel Pulse, Half Pint, The Expendables, Hed(pe), Eek-A-Mouse, Pato Banton, John Brown's Body, The Aggrolites and Fishbone, just to name a few.Tomorrows Bad Seeds continue to tour extensively amassing a large and loyal grassroots following which is rapidly gaining momentum. If you pay attention to their tour ethic, you will see their dedication to their music and fans. Following a sold out performance at the world famous Roxy Theatre on Sunset Blvd, the band went on the road with The Expendables touring in April 2010. In July the band showcased at the 2010 Warped Tour. With much anticipated buzz surrounding Tomorrows Bad Seeds, they shut down the 2010 Sunset Music Festival in August headlined by the Smashing Pumpkins. By October the band was back on the road for a co-headlining tour with Passafire. On November 18th, 2010 Tomorrows Bad Seeds received the "Commercial Success Award" at the Los Angeles Music Awards for having more than 150,000 downloads for 2010. This number continues to grow! On December 2nd, 2010 Tomorrows Bad Seeds headlined their very intimate "Holidaze Acoustic Tour" to promote their upcoming acoustic album to be released in 2011.In this increasingly uncertain economical and political world we live in, Tomorrows Bad Seeds prove to be extremely talented musicians, vocalists and entertainers as a whole, using their music to spread conscious lyrics for the conscious mind. In 2007 Tomorrows Bad Seeds signed with Urbantone Records as a vehicle to spread their seed, the band released their debut album "Early Prayers" in June 2007, featuring the singles Rhyme & Reason, Vices, Warrior Poet and Love Street. (Love street hit # 3 on the Hawaiian charts.) Tomorrows Bad Seeds released their sophomore record entitled "Sacred For Sale" on May 25th, 2010 with UrbanTone Records, distributed by MRI a subsidiary of Sony/RED. You can find Tomorrows Bad Seeds music online on Itunes, Amazon, CDbaby, etc. and some retail stores. Our fans can reach us on top social media sites such as Myspace, Facebook, Twitter and on our official web page. "We're so versatile because we come from such a melting pot of music here in the South Bay," Moises said. "...We all grew up on punk, and then hip hop kinda came and took over, but we all loved oldies back in the day...we all surf too...it's really just a blend of everything."
MOD SUN's mission statement is very clear, choose to be happy. He refers to his genre of music as "Hippy Hop" and describes his sound as an audible smile. "Movement on dreams stand under none, even my name stands for something," says 24-year-old MOD SUN. This independent artist, whose motto is "no fans, just friends," has truly solidified his name in the hip-hop scene over the past three years.Mod drastically turned heads in 2011 when he was chosen by Rolling Stone magazine as 1 of the top 16 unsigned artists in the world. He was than entered into a contest to become the first unsigned artist to ever appear on the coveted cover of the magazine. That year Mod's music video for his song, "Same Way", exploded on YouTube earning more than 350,000 views. Mod has shared the stage with a dozens of national acts including Shwayze, Chiodos, Breathe Carolina and even rap legends Wu Tang Clan.Growing up in Bloomington, Minnesota he was never a stranger to the music business. Mod began touring nationally at 17 and by age 21 he had already toured the world playing drums for two successful rock bands, Scary Kids Scaring Kids and Four Letter Lie. In the peak of these bands success, Mod decided to pursue a career as a fulltime emcee. In a span of 3 years MOD SUN has released over 100 songs and all but 10 of them for free. His latest mixtape "Blazed By The Bell" hosted by DJ ill Will & DJ Rock Star received over 40,000 downloads in its first month of release. The project featured artists such as The Ready Set, Nipsey Hussle, ScHoolBoy Q, & even an appearance by the real "Mr. Belding" Dennis Haskins. MOD SUN is a walking talking affirmation to the power of positive thinking. Right now he is somewhere smiling and he wants the same for you.
Four extraordinary talents, one scene-shaking reggae band.That's The Green, four boys hailing from Hawaii who burst out last year with their self-titled debut album. Amazingly for a new band, the disc rocketed onto Billboard's 2010 Year-End Top 10 Reggae Chart, was honored as iTunes' Reggae Album of the Year, won Best Reggae Album at Hawaii's 2011 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards, and has sold over 20,000 copies. Now the promise of The Green's youth-infused roots reggae revival is set to be fulfilled with their sophomore disc, Ways & Means, scheduled for an October 25, 2011 release on Easy Star Records, the pioneering indie reggae label. The startling speed with which the band has built up its strong and loyal following can only accelerate from here.The four members of The Green take pride in the pop-burnished roots reggae style they've cooked up--edgy enough to make tastemakers sit up and take notice, yet accessible to all ages "from little tiny kids, to people who just want to rock, to grandmas and grandpas who just love music," says guitarist-singer Zion Thompson. Four distinct voices, four sharp songwriting talents, masterful musicianship, and monster grooves add up to one exceptional band with an unforgettable sound and a powerful story.Each of The Green's four core singer-songwriters could be a solo artist in his own right, yet they're a tight, down-to-earth unit. Caleb Keolanui and JP Kennedy are first cousins who played together in a band called Next Generation. Caleb, The Green's soulful, golden-voiced singer and charismatic front man, had already performed on Hawaii's biggest stages by the time he was 16, with hit songs on heavy rotation on Hawaii radio. His pop/dancehall sensibilities show up strongly on the new album, to which he contributes songs like the sophisticated yet irresistibly catchy "Decisions" and the perpetual-motion "Love & Affection" with its warm but unexpectedly sly lyrics.Meanwhile singer-guitarist JP Kennedy was honing his own writing skills and blues-and-soul-inspired musical chops while studying engineering and putting together a home recording studio, which remains invaluable to the band as its pre-production headquarters. His songwriting pushes the boundaries of reggae, while still resonating closely with reggae traditions. The contemplative and intensely emotional "That's The Way" and the soul-suffused "Good Vibration" are both forward-thinking, introspective pop songs, while "Jah Love" and "Travlah" evoke the classic sounds of Third World and Steel Pulse respectively. The other two core members, singer-keyboardist Ikaika Antone and Zion Thompson, had worked together in the band Stir Crazy. When that group split up, the four musical brethren of The Green knew the time had come to make the new band truly flower. Ikaika, with a strong Hawaiian music background, feels a special connection to the land--when the band gigs locally, his whole clan comes out, bringing a real sense of ohana (family) to the shows; his anthemic "Gotta Be" perfectly expresses this side of The Green. Zion, who had previously spent time touring with other bands, recalls that "I missed home, missed my music" when on the road with other musicians; "All I could think about was I want to be [touring] with the boys!" His song "Ways & Means" strongly demonstrates Zion's ability to play with form - jumping from a slower reggae groove to a sped-up ska chorus and back - while still serving up a poignant love song with a soulful delivery.Righteousness--pono in Hawaiian--is everywhere in The Green's music and its message, and has been since the beginning, when they released the hit single "Love I" from their debut album. The Pier called it "a brilliantly constructed gem of modern reggae music, combining heavy drum and bass with smooth vocal melodies and enchanting lyricism," while Maui Time said the disc "shines like the Honolulu city lights that decorate it."Why the name "The Green?" As JP explains, "We wanted a name that didn't really point you in any direction. It's just a color, it makes you figure out what you want it to mean." The same can go for the music, according to Zion: "It's OK if it just makes you move, or maybe it's something new for the ear--it's a good challenge to try and get people to open their minds a little." The band's dominant modern reggae sound has a distinct Hawaiian undercurrent, especially in the lyrics, says Zion. "Even people who don't know Hawaii will realize that we're taking about a beautiful place you can relate to." At the same time, the band reflects a more realistic and modern vision of the Islands, not just the usual Island paradise vibe. The band proudly pushes broader themes of Hawaiian culture and history, while still writing about the day-to-day life they know. They are not afraid to shine a light on reality, as in "That's The Way": "Honolulu, it makes me sick / I never thought that I would say it..." With songs contributed by all four core members, a strong shot of assistance from touring bassist/producer Brad Watanabe and touring drummer/producer Leslie Ludiazo, and the mixing skills of Danny Kalb (Ben Harper), Michael Goldwasser (Easy Star All-Stars), Jim Fox (Rebelution, SOJA, Israel Vibration), and Matthew Honda, the message of Ways & Means boils down to bringing people together and respecting all people for who they are, whether it's through a love song like the title track, a spiritual like "Jah Love," or a paean to perseverance like "Keep On" on which all four songwriters collaborated.On Ways & Means the band also interjects doses of R&B, Soul, and Pop, making them an accessible listen to fans outside of reggae circles without diluting their roots. Though The Green is an important player in the new wave of homegrown reggae artists, they stand out with their ability to play both classic roots and modern dancehall, their vocal harmonies recalling reggae's golden age, and their four distinct songwriting and singing voices. With their upcoming extensive US tour kicking off around release date, The Green is poised to break out on a national level.
Existing at the point where metal collides with all other genres, Iwrestledabearonce are an example of the bold experimentation that has been keeping metal fresh and exciting. The Shreveport, LA, group, consisting of Krysta Cameron (vocals), Stephen Bradley (guitar), John Ganey (guitar), Mical Montgomery (drums), and Dave Branch (bass), combines the spastic fury of the Locust, the math wizardry of the Dillinger Escape Plan, and the metal-electro experimentation of Genghis Tron into one easy to swallow tablet. In 2007 the group released its bedroom-recorded self-titled EP. After extensive touring, Iwrestledabearonce signed with Century Media and released their debut full-length, It's All Happening, in 2009. ~ Gregory Heaney, All Music Guide
BORN OF OSIRIS are mature well beyond their years and this dynamic extreme progressive juggernaut has now perfectly honed all of their collective talents to create a truly unique sound.This ground-breaking six-piece group creates an epic mix of intricate and memorable melodies with challenging time signatures that still hold an infectious groove, all while maintaining sheer, tasteful brutality. Their critically acclaimed third full-length album, 'The Discovery' released in March 2011 debuted at 87 on the Billboard 200 and showcased the band's best work to date. After touring worldwide for 2011-2012, the band will behind writing their follow-up to The Discovery slated to be released Summer 2012.
CHUNK! NO, CAPTAIN CHUNK! ARE THE LIFE OF THE PARTY. Named after the '80s classic adventure movie 'The Goonies' and with a sense of fun that sees them make their own rules musically, this French beatdown pop punk quintet are sure to bring a giant smile to your face with their rousing, anthemic and infectious debut 'Something For Nothing'.
Forming in 2007 in Paris, Bertrand Poncet (vocals), Paul Wilson (guitar/backing vocals), Éric Poncet (Guitar), Mathias Rigal (Bass) and Jonathan Donnaës (Drums) came together as Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! due to a desire to combine the energy of punk, the catchiness of pop and the crushing assault of hardcore into a powerful party sound to win friends and fans all over the world. With the track 'In Friends We Trust' and its accompanying wild house party/show video, it's obvious that these guys are about having a good time, all the time.
With the band having remixed and remastered their debut album 'Something For Nothing' for a brand new re-release through Fearless Records, which also includes the addition of new track 'Make Believe', these young, upbeat punks have never sounded so exhilarated and energetic. Tracks such as fan favourite 'Captain Blood' and the mighty, aptly titled 'Positiv-O' prove exactly why they already have a dedicated diehard fanbase that's getting bigger and bigger every show.
Spreading their good times vibe and truly staying out for the summer, they're currently out on their first ever USA tour, the 2011 Summer pArtery Tour, with In Fear And Faith, Vanna, A Loss For Words, Close To Home, Ten After Two and Adestria. After their American assault the five-piece turn their attention to the UK and mainland Europe in October and November to hit the road with Miss May I, Chelsea Grin and Abandon All Ships. With these line-ups as diverse as the band's sound, Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! are sure to win over pop punk fans and hardcore kids alike.
With a ripping re-released album, a new record label to call home and touring to meet friends and party all over the globe in the coming months, it's clear that they've got an insatiable taste for this life and music and nothing can stand in their way.
The life of a touring musician isn't always all it's cracked up to be. The endless miles separating one from friends, family and a warm bed, and the alienation that rift creates, becomes a trial of endurance that quickly disintegrates all but the truly dedicated. For Fireworks, the answer is to find strength together, as one; five friends creating music, and in the end, their own brand of Gospel.Thus Gospel, the Detroit-based quintet's second full-length and follow-up to 2009's All I Have To Offer Is My Own Confusion, finds the band at a crucial crossroads, both creatively and personally. Their rookie growing pains behind them, on the new record the band penned their most powerful and captivating music to date, orbiting a central theme of inspiration amid sacrifice. Fortunately it only takes a matter of seconds to hear that the group's efforts have hardly been in vain. "This record just makes so much more sense with us, and I think it shows," says guitarist and frequent lyricist Chris Mojan. "We basically all went into the studio and fed off each other. I think once people hear this record, they'll be like, 'This is the record I expected you guys to put out one day. This is totally you guys.' It doesn't sound like anything else."Fireworks--which also includes vocalist Dave Mackinder, bassist Kyle O'Neil, guitarist Brett Jones and drummer Tymm Rengers--formed in Detroit in 2005, and released their first EP, We Are Everywhere, on Run For Cover Records in 2006. Those early recordings and some serious DIY touring eventually attracted the attention of esteemed indie Triple Crown Records, which signed the band in 2008 and re-released We Are Everywhere, before quickly sending the band into the studio to cut a full-length debut. Fireworks teamed with producer/New Found Glory guitarist Chad Gilbert and in 2009 dropped All I Have To Offer Is My Own Confusion, instantly staking their place among the leaders of the present melodic punk revival. Several high-profile tours followed, including stints with NFG, Set Your Goals, Four Year Strong and Saves The Day.But despite All I Have To Offer Is My Own Confusion's many charms, the band knew they could do better, especially with more time and budget. So for a follow-up Fireworks tapped iconic producer Brian McTernan (Thrice, Circa Survive, The Movielife) to helm the sessions, sequestering themselves for a month at McTernan's cozy Salad Days studio, in Baltimore, Md.'s vibrant Fell's Point neighborhood. What they emerged with is sure to completely blow away fans, while also exhibiting obvious growth since their last release."We just went on a very different dynamic than our last record," says O'Neil. "We've grown a ton; it shows a lot of maturity, I feel, as far as songwriting goes and sound, but it still has the catchiness of the last record and traditional Fireworks. This one is like everything that we grew up listening to, and wanted to be."Indeed, there's a prevailing sound and vibe on Gospel that harkens to earlier, golden days, when bands like Saves The Day and New Found Glory were redefining pop-punk, yet there's an unmistakable modernity to Gospel as well, sprinkled with the band's own particular nuances. The sum total is a record that sounds like everything fans of the genre adore, while also being fresh, unique and artistically challenging."I honestly think it's just a record that we really wanted to make; it's just a cool, driving rock/pop record," says Mojan. "There are some surf-y vibes to it, some Costello-type vibes, and some harder, traditional Fireworks-type vibes on it, too. It's just all over the place, in a good way. It has definitely some of our most chill material, but at the same time, it has some of the fastest, most aggressive songs we've written."Lyrically speaking, the band spends much of Gospel wrestling with a life spent largely on the road; a situation that has only intensified in recent years with each new milestone Fireworks achieve. Rather than coming across as complaining though, it's more akin to guilt-tinged confession and friendly confiding. "We're obviously in a different mindset since we recorded the last record, as far as life goes, but it's still very personal," explains O'Neil. "I feel this one's even a little more personal, because now we're all a little older, but we're not much more established as people in the real world. Different personal events have happened in people's lives, and being gone a lot has definitely hindered some relationships, as it always will in that situation.""We're all coming to the age when everyone we grew up just kind of moved on and started really living a normal-type life. It isn't a bad thing, but we're just kind of dealing with falling behind," adds Mojan. "It's definitely way more honest than the last record. It mainly deals with the struggles of being home, and being caught in-between being a touring band who does well and plays shows, or just being some idiot trying, who doesn't have time to go to school or do anything else because of this."However out of those tribulations, Fireworks found a new strength in one another, collaborating closer than ever on an album that they can be proud of for years to come. Opening track "Arrows," with its soaring verses and frenetic changes, the intensifying churn of "Summer," or the moody, STD-reminiscent "Teeth," go so far beyond merely honoring the group's influences; they deserve inclusion among the genre's most essential listening. Sensing that their latest release encapsulated more than just songs, but rather, their entire collective salvation, the group dubbed the record Gospel, reflecting not just solidarity, but redemption amid adversity."People sing gospels that help them. To us, this is our version of our gospel, like our expression, and our way out of the annoyances of life," explains Mojan. "It rang really well. It was basically words we wanted to live by, and to us, there's no better way to describe it. The basis of the album is kind of negative, but it's definitely sparked with positivity and more of an uplifting theme, out of a darker setting."As the title conveys, one listen to Gospel and it's clear there is light at the end of the tunnel. Coming up indie can be hard on a young band, but when said group responds with a work as unforgettable as Firework's latest, the fruits of such labor can't be far behind. The band plans to hit the road hard this spring in anticipation of the album's May 24 release, including a three-week run with like-minded punkers the Wonder Years, before the summer calendar gets fully underway. More than anything, the band is anxious to share their triumphant Gospel, so for Fireworks fans, 2011 promises to be nothing short of incendiary."We really are excited for the next couple years, and this record, and everything else to come afterward, and to really see where it takes us as a band," says Mojan. "Right now, we're very much in a 'bring it on' state of mind."
"I know you're good at keeping secrets.
Well I'm better at wearing them out for the world to see."
"Music is about connecting with people, and that's what we focus on more than anything else," says Transit's vocalist Joe Boynton. Hailing from north shore Boston, Transit is a band that expresses an arresting degree of honesty and individuality in their music. While clearly drawing inspiration from seminal groups such as Saves The Day, as well as the Northeast US pop-punk scenes that all five members grew up in, Transit has swiftly evolved into a group with a more alternative, indie rock sound. "We all grew up listening to a wide variety of music, but bands like Archers of Loaf, Braid, Osker and American Football demonstrated to us that there are always refreshing ways to create a new style and feel," explains guitarist Tim Landers. Illustrating Transit's artistic evolution from one release to the next, early descriptions of the group compared them to Taking Back Sunday and Brand New, and now, more recently, to bands like Death Cab For Cutie and Modest Mouse.
The band's prolific output is also impressive by any measure, having put out seven releases over the last four years. Transit's highly acclaimed LP, "Keep This To Yourself", released in August 2010 on Run For Cover Records, inspired ABSOLUTEPUNK to rave: "Good luck keeping Transit's passionate and infectious tunes a secret. Once you hear the first chords of opener "Dear Anyone," you'll immediately go out and tell all your friends about the best pop-punk album of 2010." Transit also released an acoustic EP, "Something Left Behind" in February and a limited edition Record Store Day 7", "Promise Nothing", was released this past spring and sold out in advance. ALTERNATIVE PRESS, in a glowing review of "Promise Nothing", praised the band's meteoric creative growth, comparing them to Jimmy Eat World and Moneen.
Named one of the "Bands To Watch in 2011" by ALTERNATIVE PRESS, Transit has played throughout North America and overseas alongside Four Year Strong, The Wonder Years, Less Than Jake, Bayside, Man Overboard, Senses Fail and many others. The band—whose members also include Torre Cioffi (guitars), PJ Jefferson (bass) and Daniel Frazier (drums)—has just finished tracking its first full-length on Rise Records, LISTEN & FORGIVE. The album, which ALTERNATIVE PRESS just named as one of the "Top 20 Must-Hear Fall 2011 Releases", is set to drop in the US and around the world in early October.
To mark the release of LISTEN & FORGIVE, Transit will be touring this Fall around the US with Saves The Day, Bayside and I Am The Avalanche, before heading to the UK and Europe in December with Title Fight and Balance and Composure. From that point onwards, fans can expect to see the band touring extensively around the globe throughout 2012 and beyond.
Adamantly earnest and unwaveringly driven, New England's Make Do and Mend has spent the past four years gaining footholds and garnering attention in every corner of today's music landscape. Building off the steam of two previous E.P. releases, a widely acclaimed split 7" with Los Angeles' Touche Amore, and years of relentless touring, the four piece raised the bar for melodic post-hardcore with the 2010 release of their debut LP "End Measured Mile." The follow up to their well-received EPs We're All Just Living and Bodies Of Water, End Measured Mile finds Make Do And Mend building on their gruff brand of punk rock, blending passion and intensity with melody and sincerity. Heralded as one of the best punk records of the year, End Measured Mile has been racking in critical praise, with Alternative Press commenting, "Frontman James Carroll, bearing a gruff bark... guides the band through catchy, texturally dynamic romps," while the band's hometown paper the Hartford Courant says the album "is a collection of volatile songs stuffed full of serrated power chords, battering ram drums and leathery bellowing from singer James Carroll... The mood on End Measured Mile rarely feels less than life-or-death intense."A driving cohesive accomplishment from band that has earned a solid following through rigorous touring and an honest approach to their music and fans, End Measured Mile has only just begun to turn heads. Out of all of the fan fare,Punknews sums it up best: "Simply put,(End Measured Mile is) the most impressive debut full-length of the year."2011 will see MDAM continuing to tour full force, sharing a passionate and unyielding live show, honed in sweaty basements, and proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that hard work and passion are far from dead in music today.
My name is Matt Toka.
Music saved me from a dysfunctional life in Youngstown, Ohio. I was raised in a house where physical, substance and mental abuse were the norm. When I was young, my parents fought constantly, so I would slam my bedroom door and play Green Day's Dookie as loud as I could, singing those songs over and over to myself.
I knew then that music would be my escape.
I started playing guitar when I was 12 and started playing in a couple bands that were pretty popular in the local scene even though I couldn't wait to get the hell out of Ohio. After graduating high school, I started a group called Cherry Monroe and I worked my ass off to get us heard. There wasn't a place I didn't pass out our CD — malls, schools, gas stations, you name it — and all the hard work seemed to pay off when we earned a huge following and got signed by Universal Records.
I thought snagging a record deal meant I'd be given bags of money and life would be one big party. I didn't take my career seriously at all and the band was dropped a year later. My life was spiraling out of control: I lost my full-time gig, my parents got divorced and both my mom and grandfather got locked up in prison. Why would I stay and rot in Youngstown?
I had nothing left to lose so I said fuck it, put my whole life in my shitty Honda Civic and drove out to Los Angeles. Talk about a reality check. I went from performing to thousands of people to playing an acoustic guitar next to weirdos dressed up as Batman and SpongeBob SquarePants on Hollywood Blvd. I may've escaped all my family bullshit, but I was still completely depressed by the wrong turns my life had taken.
Inspired by the storytelling of Bob Dylan, Oasis' Noel Gallagher and, of course, Billie Joe Armstrong, I locked myself in my one-room studio apartment and started writing about all the fucked-up stuff I'd gone through. I wouldn't shower or go outside for days. I was so angry and frustrated but found out that when I was able to harness my emotions, I was beginning to find myself—— and my voice as a songwriter.
I took shitty temp jobs to keep the lights on, but I was determined to make it with my music. Once I built my confidence back up, I started posting all my songs—both covers and originals—on YouTube. People seemed to really dig it and it wasn't long until I landed my second record deal. This time, though, I swore not to take a goddamn thing for granted.
When producer Rob Cavallo (Green Day, My Chemical Romance) agreed to produce my first album, I cried like a fucking baby. I just pictured being that little kid in his bedroom, listening to Dookie and dreaming of this moment. I can't wait to share all the songs onStraight To Hell with my fans. The record is all about how hard life can be but you can't let the small stuff bring you down. There's a lot of shit you can't change, so make an effort to enjoy every minute. You can turn any kind of energy into something positive. If life gives you lemons, make a fucking drink.
It's an unlikely tale. Rising from the fevered hotbed of Sydney, Australia's underground hardcore scene, boy meets girl. Or rather, two boys meet girl to make kick-ass rock music.Try to keep up - the story goes something like this...Guitarist Whakaio Taahi and his compadre bass player, Cameron Adler, needed a frontman for a rock project. Scrap that. Frontwoman. Enter ingenue-with-attitude, Jenna McDougall - as soon as the sixteen-year-old songstress' soaring contralto and sweet strains took the mic to their songs, something clicked. Already onboard, rhythm axeman Jake Hardy and new recruit, drummer Matt Best - a childhood buddy of Whakaio's. One jam later, the writing was on the wall. Tonight Alive were up and running, pedal to the metal.The band stepped up, and fast. Songs honed, stagecraft already a dead cert, they entered Sydney's subterranean circuit of metalcore and heavy bands, playing their own brand of catchy-as-all-hell pop-punk... and promptly took the scene by storm, developing a rabid young fanbase in thrall to the band's ebullient, fist-pumping anthemery, arena-sized hooks and high-voltage live performances. Right from word-go, it was clear Tonight Alive were going somewhere.A year on, courted by labels and management secured, with two stellar EPs ('All Shapes & Disguises' and 'Consider This') under their belts, a demo of Tonight Alive's new material landed on producer-extraordinaire Mark Trombino's (Blink 182, Jimmy Eat World, The Starting Line) desk. He rang the band immediately, wanting in."For him to contact us, and say he was interested, was a big deal," says Jenna, now 19. "We couldn't believe he'd put himself out like that. He's amazing. Mark created the albums we all grew up listening to - the albums that launched the careers of all these great bands.Whakaio weighs in. "Yeah, it felt right that he do our first album, that he be the one to kick-start us off. As soon as we got over there, we found Mark felt the same."Recorded at LA's infamous NRG Studios over two months, Trombino's personal interest in the project played out in other fortuitous ways. "Nothing was left to editing or over Pro-Tooling," notes Whakaio. "Jenna sang every line until it was right. I played every guitar part. The drum sound is natural and not heavily sampled. There was no copy-pasting. That was really important to us, as well as Mark. That it sound real. Natural.""It was great because it made us really step up as musicians," says Jenna. "I know I definitely came back from the experience a better singer."What you're listening to now is the inspired result of that auspicious partnership between a bunch of Aussie kids and an auteur with a canon of classic records already to his name. What Are You So Scared Of? is one more album to add to that list.As the charging powerchords, chiming verseline and rattlesnake high-hats of Breaking & Entering kick off proceedings, Tonight Alive make their intent known with this instant torch song. Like serving up straight red cordial shots to a bunch of Ritalin-deprived delinquents. Like scooping up a surging circle-pit and slamdunking into a kids' jumping castle. Like a surly prom queen setting her school afire as the So-Cal styled band plays on, What Are You So Scared Of? is a veritable barnstormer of a debut album. Bouncey, infectious and thrilling.Cue the mosh-happy shout-a-long of Starlight, the sheer infectious fun of Sure as Hell and the sugar-rush of songs like To Die For and the title track. Lending both cred and sporting their influences on their sleeve.But there's also gravitas to match Tonight Alive's gusto and good time - the balls-out heaviness of Listening, the acoustic-shaded power ballad Safe and Sound, and one of the album's best tracks, Let It Land, all showcase a band with serious songwriting chutzpah. Meanwhile, the moving closer, Amelia, is Jenna's paean to a girlhood friend who passed away aged 16, and packs one powerful emotional punch.What really lifts Tonight Alive above another female-fronted pop-rock band is their muscular musicality, a deft sense of dynamic, a way of shifting seamlessly from the big riffs and breakdowns, to allow space and the sensibility of Jenna's sweetly sung melodies to shine through. The hardcore heritage has set them in good stead - these kids have some bad-ass chops. Underpinned by Best's impassioned, athletic drumming, the mercurial undertow of Adler's tasteful basswork and Hardy's meat'n' potato riffery, Whakaio lays down the sort of colour, texture and zinging, adrenalizing leadlines that sing like a wire fenceline being drawn taut.When it comes to fronting Tonight Alive, Jenna is all heart and zero artifice - plus, this gal's got one helluva set of lungs on her. Equal parts sugar and spit, honey and husk, vamp, vitriol and vulnerability, she belts it out, hell for leather. "The weird thing is, even though as a band, we all grew up on bands like Thrice, Sum 41 and Something Corporate, I think what influenced me most, vocally, was stuff as diverse as Frank Sinatra, Missy Higgins, Avril Lavrigne and Fall Out Boy," says Jenna. "Plus I listen to tons of metal, where there's a lot of screaming. I really dig the aggression."Already with a cult following Stateside, key to the band's burgeoning profile has been the inclusion of songs off their last EP on reality TV show The Hills. Ironic, considering the band are from Sydney's Hills District. "Yeah," laughs Whakaio. "We're the Aussie Hills!""We're hoping it'll help us out in the girl department," quips Matt, "That we'll get invited to some Hills launch party in Hollywood. Sadly, it hasn't happened yet."Perhaps a song on Jersey Shore might tip things in their favour? "God," drawls Jenna. "We hope not."The band's grounded approach has added to their groundswell appeal. "We started off playing youth centre's," says Whakaio. "And so we all feel like we have a personal connection to so many people who come to our shows. I know that sounds cliched, but it's true - it's almost like we're friends with all of them. We make a point of going out after a gig, making contact with the fans, thanking them, keeping them informed."So, why the title What Are You So Scared Of? "It's the only question I can ever ask myself where I'll always have an answer," explains Jenna. "Asking myself, 'what are you so scared of?' has always helped me pass through any personal fear or doubt. And it's summed up the last year for us as a band - we've broken new boundaries, stepped up into another league."What Are You So Scared Of? is our mission statement, if you like - we're moving forward, dissolving old barriers or blocks."She's no blonde bombshell, that's for sure, but Jenna and her band may very well be the bomb: Tonight Alive are gonna blow up big-time. Prepare yourself, people. Tonight Alive are here, and they're on fire.
Epitaph Records is thrilled to announce the signing of Skip The Foreplay. Known for their distinct musical style, which mashes up elements of dubstep and house with pop and metal-core, the ground-breaking Montreal - based band has been electrifying audiences with their intoxicating blend of hardcore heaviness and dance floor energy since 2010. Skip The Foreplay will be releasing their anticipated full length Epitaph debut this spring."Aside from having one of the greatest names in history, Skip The Foreplay are simply Satan's delivery system for music of mass destruction," offers Epitaph founder and President Brett Gurewitz.Skip The Foreplay made a serious impression on audiences while appearing with the likes of Hollywood Undead, Lamb Of God, NOFX, Alesana and more. The band will be joining up with rock n' roll heavy hitter Ronnie Radke and Falling In Reverse for a tour this January and February before spending the summer on the road.Skip The Foreplay singer Marc-Andre Fillion proclaims, "We're extremely happy to now be a part of the Epitaph family. Our first record is finally done! We can't wait to share it with you guys and will keep you posted on the release date. We've also just been confirmed on our first US tour with Falling In Reverse in January/February 2012. So come hang out and join the party!"The band recently created an internet sensation with their stunning and delightfully seditious cover of the song "Champagne Showers" by the popular electro pop duo LMFAO. The new version retains all the seductive dance floor hooks of the track, while adding some serious heaviness that includes massive bass drops, breakdowns, and cerebral electronic remixes.
Female-fronted pop/rock band from Minneapolis, MN. Coming off some dates with Joan Jett and The Bangles, the quintet sounds a lot like early Tegan & Sara. "The women ... bow at the alter of riot grrl days gone by while simultaneously thumbing their noses at scowling rock-chick cliches. The songs are as bracing as they are familiar." --Spin
Mighty Mongo will rock the socks back on to your feet. We are a four-piece Rock/Punk/Ska band with a flippin' keytar, and we're stoked to be a part of this year's Warped Tour! If you wanna know more about us, just send us a message on facebook/ twitter - we'd love to meet you! And for those of you who actually read this a if you plan on coming to Warped Tour, come visit our Merch Table and say the following secret word for FREE and AWESOME Merch from Mighty Mongo: cowabunga.
Hannes Naumann and Maik Biermann have known each other for a very long time, battling through the adventures of Thuringian forest-provinces, before they magically became Captain Capa. Born in beautiful smalltown Bad Frankenhausen, they grew up between videogame and garagepunk, before entering the world of electronic music, discovering a love for big melodies on flashy beats.As they decide to rob their piggybanks to gain the power of sequencers and synthesizers, to create a stunning EP of sci-fi-tech and emo-pop, they both knew, that neither big city lights nor a bright skyline would be necessary to create electronic popmusic."These Fights Are Never Over" is released on small-scale DIY Label "Cobretti Records" and acclaimed as an insider's tip of german, independent dance music. In May 2009 it's time for their first longplayer. Mixed, cleaned up and made dirty again by Norman Kolodziej, master of electro-bam of bands Der Tante Renate and Bratze, "Tonight Is The Constant" is acclaimed as catchy highspeed-pop by critics and indie-kids. The album lights a spark with ingredients of nurave, emotional electro-escapades and a glimmering voice, unable to decide if it's from a US emocore band of the early 2000s or abductet from some brit-pop-hero.Having a powerful debut-album and the sound of thousand angsty teenage-souls in their backs, Captain Capa travel through time and space, where they share their stages with children of big family Audiolith. The colleagues of Egotronic, Bratze, Frittenbude or Juri Gagarin become friends: supporting, remixing, collaborating. Supershirt, the big brothers in spirit, even decide to produce a split-EP called "Tote Tiere" in october 2010, including a furious title-track feature burning through the clubs. A few months later, the band itself is invited to be a part of the label-insanity called AUDIOLITH RECORDS. Releasing "Saved My Life", Captain Capa throw out a consequently over-pumped pop-record, lacking all subtlety - showing even clearer which influences burn in their hearts, willing to burst out at any time.Even if the big, wide world drips out of Captain Capas verses, with choruses smelling strangely like city lights, the boys still live in Bad Frankenhausen, beneath the most skewed steeple worldwide, right in the most colorful house of the country. So fuck skylines!
I Call Fives has covered a lot of ground since getting their 2006 start in Washinton Township, NJ. From countless basement shows and DIY tours to supporting national acts and the Vans Warped Tour, the band has stayed grounded. I Call Fives has built their fan base on one constant: hard work. Having released an EP in 2010 and a split 7" in 2011, the band is set to go to work on their debut full length in February (produced by Paul Levitt) with plans to release the LP in June of 2012. Expect to see I Call Fives all summer long on this years Vans Warped Tour and through the end of the year supporting their band new record.
Displaying an in-depth understanding of Silent Majority, Turning Point and Quicksand, Hostage Calm's well- received 2008 debut, Lens, was a comprehensive lesson in what punk and hardcore should sound like. Jagged-yet- infectious melodies effortlessly merged with beefy power chords and politically charged battle cries while fiery anthems formed amidst uncommon song structures. With that creative momentum and the positive response from fans and critics alike, the band took a year to write and a year to record its Self-Titled follow-up for Boston's Run for Cover Records. It's safe to say that the quintet's knack for composing intelligent, passionate tunes is matched only by that of its musical ambition. While Hostage Calm continues to hint at those Dag Nasty arpeggios and the skipping Descendents-esque beats, these new songs are pushed in unclassifiable directions, cradled by lush layers of jangling acoustic guitars, quick tambourine hits and resonating piano accompaniments. Sonically, a good point of reference starts at The Smith's The Queen Is Dead, with its blending of styles into one cohesive and all encompassing indie / pop album. Hostage Calm never compromises its energy, but touches lightly on everything from doo wop ( "Rebel Fatigues" ) and new wave ( "Ballots / Stones" ) to Latin ( "Wither On The Vine" ) and power pop ( "War On A Feeling" ). Vocalist Chris Martin's suave melodies are chosen with the utmost care; they have a particularly relaxed quality that reveals a less excessive rendition of the 1980's. And while he's just about as political as ever, he doesn't hesitate to delve into more personal narratives, yet spares us of any cringe-worthy melodramatics. Don't be intimidated - "pop" isn't a four-letter word. In context with the substance-less drivel that excretes from the radio waves these days, it's sometimes easy to forget. But Hostage Calm executes an infectious effort with actual lyrical and musical purpose. Truly a singular effort, there's a bit of something for every notch in the music-fan spectrum. Still, Hostage Calm never completely strays from the scene responsible for its inception. If you like music - regardless of genre - you should be paying attention. - Michael French Hostage Calm's Self-Titled full-length was recorded and produced by Greg Thomas at Silver Bullet Studios (Ambitions, Shai Hulud, Life In Your Way) in Burlington, CT and was mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side. Run For Cover will be releasing the record on July 20th, 2010 on 12" vinyl ( 300 black, 200 clear / blue ), CD and digital formats. For more info go to www.beartrappr.com/hostage-calm
Having only been established for just over a year, The Silver Comet has already booked shows with the likes of 3OH!3, Chiodos, I See Stars, and Breathe Carolina. They have frequented Atlanta's top venues such as Smiths Olde Bar, The Masquerade, The Vinyl at Center Stage and most recently Vans Warped Tour 2012; their first ever tour. The vocally centered Alternative Rock 5 piece has successfully won over audiences with their rare spin on today's rock music and thrilling live display. With the influences of Incubus, Foo Fighters, and Kings of Leon; 'The Silver Comet sound' has been loosely depicted as catchy, honest, and aesthetic to the ears of casual music listeners as well as seasoned musicians.Having self released their first EP in early 2011 and releasing their second EP entitled "My Fear of Flying" only 11 months later, The Silver Comet is building upon their rightly earned momentum and contiuing to expand their loyal fanbase.
When Glasgow's Twin Atlantic released their 2009 mini-album, Vivarium, it immediately found an awestruck audience. The reviews were uniformly ecstatic. Grand, sweeping and eloquent, it was a collection of songs with a heart and soul, crafted by passion and informed by staunch lyrical and musical frankness. It set Twin Atlantic on a rollercoaster - one that has led, now, to the release of their full debut, Free, on Red Bull Records, an inspiring collection of songs full of ambition, pain, belief and soul. In a world of music dominated by talent show winners, mass-marketed bands and meaningless music, here, finally, is a band in which to invest your heart.Formed in 2007 in Glasgow, and infusing their music with their Scottish heritage, Twin Atlantic found themselves caught in a whirlwind in the months that followed Vivarium's release. Support slots with the great and the good - from blink-182 to My Chemical Romance and The Gaslight Anthem - followed tours the length and breadth of Britain, Europe and America. Interviews, photo-shoots, magazine articles and newspaper pieces amounted to a blur of excitement and hype. "We had three years where we've had this barrage of dream scenarios which we grasped with two hands," says frontman Sam McTrusty.But, in the grasping, Twin Atlantic worried they had strayed from the ethos and ideals with which they had started their band. "We suddenly thought, 'What are we doing?'" adds McTrusty. In that moment of realisation, Twin Atlantic did what only the best bands do. They rediscovered their love for music and for pouring themselves, their feelings, fears, hopes and dreams into it. The results are their brilliant new album. "This band was meant to be based on integrity," says McTrusty. "We wanted there to be a brutal honesty in the lyrics. I think we've done that."The quest to deliver authenticity in their music led them to the influential producer Gil Norton ("a fucking dude-and-a-half," according to guitarist and cellist Barry McKenna) with who they teamed up in the Red Bull Studios in Santa Monica, California at the end of 2010. "We really trusted that he could help us make an honest record because he's already achieved that with other bands like Pixies and Foo Fighters early in their careers. You can hear the genuineness in the bands he's worked with."And with Norton, they set about crafting an exceptional album. "I was unbelievably excited to be working with Gil - he's been at the helm of a handful of my favourite records, including The Colour And The Shape which single-handedly made me decide that I needed to play in a band," says drummer Craig Kneale. "When we got in the studio with him, it was just a complete dream. We're so confident in each of the songs, and there must have been about 100 points in the studio where we would listen back to something and all get goosebumps."And throughout, that all-important sincerity was there. "We can hold our heads high and say we did exactly what we wanted, and exactly how we wanted. At no point have we compromised as a band, as musicians or as people," says McKenna. "I think all great music has to be truthful and we have certainly achieved that, to one another and collectively outwards."Free is an album of experiences. Having had their horizons broadened by touring the UK, Europe and America, McTrusty, in particular, spent time gazing from aeroplane and van windows fearing the world he was seeing was becoming a more uniform place. "We haven't written a political record," he says, "but there are issues in there like globalisation because that's something that freaks me out. Perhaps that's come from touring and feeling that everything sometimes seems the same."It was a train of thought that unfurls masterfully throughout the record. "There are songs about how the media and big corporations manipulate and mould your opinions," he says. "You end up becoming a lesser version of yourself as a result." But if this is a record that takes a more worldly view than before, it is still one that remains steadfastly personal too - yet it's one that could be personal to all their fans. "Sam discusses a lot of issues not only personal to him, or even the four of us, but to the modern generation," says McKenna. "Many people will be able to relate to these songs, and hopefully they will." "Lyrically these are not my stories," adds bassist Ross McNae, "but I do feel more of an attachment to some of the messages within certain songs. I can personally associate more with the lyrical content of these songs."Musically, too, they were ambitious. Forging on from Vivarium's expressiveness, Twin Atlantic wanted to make an album that was both vast and encompassing. "There are love songs and relationship songs, there are some with a party vibe, there are some that are weird, heavy and grungey pop songs," says McTrusty. Hence Free's stunning vision, one built on intricate songwriting aimed at the emotional core of its listeners. In each track, in each guitar line or beat, each lyric or phrase, it's an album in which the band's hearts beat and their souls shimmer. You can hear such personality in even the simplest things: the fact that McTrusty's Scottish accent shines through is just one. "Why," asks McTrusty, "would you tell a personal story in anyone else's voice but your own?"But, most of all, the album has an emotional honesty that speaks straight from the heart. In all its twists and turns it embodies its creators. "I don't know if we could live with ourselves if we were to make a song that didn't have the four of us in the music," says McTrusty, before McKenna adds: "Personally the only thing I wanted to achieve from this whole process is an album the four of us could stand by and invest ourselves in. We have done that."And it's because of music like this that the sense of expectation around Twin Atlantic is developing rapidly. This brilliant record, one of the most anticipated of the year, has been tipped by tastemakers and fans alike. If Vivarium left the band poised for greatness, 2011 will be the year in which they attain it."Music's been dumbed down and homogenised. There are lots of people who don't believe in it anymore. But we've made a record with substance," says McTrusty finally. "We're giving people something to believe in again."
LA rockers The Darlings have come a long way since their inception in 2005. After beating out hundreds of bands to win Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands 13, the Darlings had their song "What Lies Below" picked up by the Anaheim Ducks, who used the track for their 09/10 season promo spots on Prime Ticket. The band's song "Broken Heart Still Beating" has also been in steady rotation on influential LA modern rock station KROQ's Locals Only show for months. In addition to hitting the road on tours with Face To Face, Strung Out, Pennywise and sharing the stage with Sum 41, Bad Religion, and Social Distortion last year, they also picked up endorsements from Ernie Ball, Fxck Cancer Foundation, and Supernatural Cymbals. The Darlings don't show any signs of slowing as they were just showcased at the NAMM Show 2012 in Anaheim, CA and are releasing their next single "Hypnotize" off their debut full length album, 'The New Escape' on Gadsen Records (UMG) this Spring.
Music history is rich with rock bands fronted by dynamic duos. Looking to carry on this yin and yang tradition are two talented young women, singer Emily Armstrong and guitarist Siouxsie Medley, who front Los Angeles' Dead Sara -- an electrifying four-piece rock band whose supercharged music is propelled by Medley's exhilarating, monster guitar riffs and Armstrong's powerful, wailing vocals. The two musicians are a study in contrast onstage: Medley remains rooted in place -- a solid, steady anchor for Armstrong's almost unhinged performance style. A skilled vocal stylist who can handle blues, soul, and folk-rock with equal aplomb, Armstrong can unleash a guttural howl one minute and trill as pretty as a songbird the next. (When asked by the Wall Street Journal recently which female rock singers she admired, legendary Jefferson Airplane singer Grace Slick namechecked Armstrong, citing her "strong, urgent sound.") Dead Sara, which also includes bassist Chris Null and drummer Sean Friday, has attracted major buzz for the ferocious spectacle of its high-octane live performances. Of a January show at The Troubadour, L.A.'s indie-rock tastemaker website Picksysticks.com raved: "You almost forgot you were watching a rock show in the 450-capacity Troubadour and not in a venue like Staples Center that holds thousands when Dead Sara launched into their soon-to-be mega hit 'Weatherman.'" OC Weekly has praised the band for its "blazing, impassioned classic rock, punk/indie jams, catchy guitar melodies, and songs about not backing down," while Buzzbands.la noted that Dead Sara's "strain of primal rock is loud enough to awaken the ghosts in both the indie and metal underworlds, and maybe even get them to dance a bit."Having spent much of last year in the studio, Dead Sara are gearing up to unleash the fruits of their labors with a three-song digital release, due February 7th and featuring the explosive first single "Weatherman," emotionally resonant ballad "Sorry For It All," and an exclusive acoustic version of "Test My Patience." Their highly anticipated self-titled debut album is slated to be released on April 10th via the band's own label, Pocket Kid Records through Fontana/Universal. Produced by Noah Shain, the music veers effortlessly from melodic, soaring tunes such as "We Are What You Say" and "Whispers & Ashes," to bruised, power ballads like "Dear Love" and "Face to Face," to fierce, blaring tracks "Timed Blues," "Test My Patience," and "Weatherman." "That diversity is what's honest and real to us," Medley says. "We love classic rock, blues, folk, metal, punk, gospel, all of it, so we didn't want to put restrictions on ourselves genre-wise. We just knew we wanted the music to sound really raw and primal, even a bit unsettling." Lyrically, many of Dead Sara's songs are survival anthems informed by their struggle to stay true to their vision of being a powerful, uncompromising female-fronted rock band. "It was difficult to deal with people's ideas about what we should be doing," Armstrong says. "I ended up shutting myself off from everyone and feeling really crushed. I didn't really come out of it until some of my close friends and fans of the band expressed concern, saying 'What the hell are you doing? You can't give up.'"Good thing Dead Sara kept at it. "Weatherman" is poised to sink its teeth into Modern Rock and Active Rock radio on February 14th and has already scored early adds from WCCC FM in Hartford, CT, (where it is the No. 2 most requested song) and 99x FM in Atlanta. In addition, look for Dead Sara as a featured artist on the Vans Warped Tour 2012, which kicks off June 16th in Salt Lake City.
In a world where some bands are handed everything on a silver platter, there's also a place where there's still some hardworking folks left. Boston's own pop-punk outfit, A Loss For Words are at the top of that list. Having released 3 EPs and their full length "The Kids Can't Lose" since 2005, they are a group with unstoppable dedication, hard work, and creativity. A Loss For Words have been regarded by members of Bayside, Four Year Strong and Bane as the hardest working band out there right now. Some people are going to ask what being a hardworking band even means anymore, and those questions are warranted. In a world where Myspace plays have somehow become more important than heart, the line that separates the real from the manufactured has become more than a little blurry. A Loss For Words know where they stand in this sea of blurred lines. A Loss For Words are out there on the road touring ten months out of every year. Not only are they out there playing shows, but are watching younger bands, pushing CD's in the parking lot, shaking hands and putting on one of the most sweat-soaked and honest sets you can find. A Loss For Words sees the wall that stands between them and success and they're not stupid. They know that maybe with some cool haircuts and electric drums there might be an easier way around it, but they've picked the path they've always known, breaking away at the concrete with their bare hands and it shows. I challenge you to find another unsigned band with these achievements: toured with Four Year Strong, Set Your Goals and Polar Bear Club, sold 6000 copies of a record that no one helped them put out, and that went to Japan on a 100% DIY agenda. With A Loss For Words, the guarantee is that no matter what town you live in, these guys will be there this year ready to shake your hand, hang out, rock out and have a good time.
"I think the good in people is never lost," Koji said. "And it's never gone from music. Music is an art form that celebrates potential. If you're looking for it, you're going to find it." - February 20, 2012 interview with Gaining Ground Media.Andrew Koji Shiraki is an American artist and activist from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA. He can be seen advocating with organizations such as Resolve and Invisible Children on behalf of the child soldiers being used by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in central and east Africa as well as Humility Now to help raise awareness about the homeless right here in the United States. His concerts feature a combination of music, storytelling, media and visual art, all aimed at empowering youth to create positive, lasting change and build community.In 2010, Koji released 4 records, each a unique effort. Seaside Sessions was a raw demo tape that came together in one day with producer Gabe Liberti at Seaside Lounge in Brooklyn. That spring, he hit the road with his demo in tow and almost immediately after upon returning home, Koji landed a deal with Run For Cover Records. In August, RFC released Spring Song Vol. 1 - a full-length live record tracked at intimate house shows on Koji's spring tour, followed by Some Small Way - Koji's first full band release. In October, No Sleep Records released a full-length 12" vinyl split with Chicago's Into It. Over It., entitled IIOI/KOJI, which was lauded by the Associated Press as one of 2010's Most Overlooked Albums, alongside artists like Mumford and Sons, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, and Gucci Mane.Last year, Koji was named one of Alternative Press magazine's "100 Bands To Know in 2011," and word of his talent is spreading fast. His latest release is his 12" vinyl-only split with long time friends, La Dispute, entitled Never Come Undone, which came out via No Sleep Records. The record was released amidst Koji's "Resolve Tour," where he performed in addition to sharing video and photography, collecting petition signatures and letters to congress seeking funding for the endangered LRA Strategy (it was eventually funded because of the youth advocacy community), and conducting community round table discussions to drive further into the issue of the LRA in central Africa, America's role in creating peace, and the power of an individual's voice to make change on this and any issue. His side of Never Come Undone features the song "Peacemaker" as well as Koji's take on Ted Leo's Biomusicology and was dedicated to fellow activist, Nate Henn, who was killed in 2010's World Cup bombing in Uganda.Koji's journey continues and 2012 is destined up to be a landmark year as he works tirelessly on two new studio efforts while also traveling for tapings of intimate DIY shows for a second installment of the Spring Song series. His concert tours and advocacy projects will take him all around the world several times over this year. And it remains Koji's commitment to his craft and his community that continue to drive the fervent support for his work in both music and activism.
Ask anyone who's seen him live and they'll tell you that Wick-it puts on one of the most high-energy, original and entertaining live shows you've ever seen. With successful headlining shows everywhere from California to Alabama, it is clear that the rest of the nation is taking note as well.What makes Wick-it so special begins in the studio. Starting in 2010 with his groundbreaking Big Boi vs. Black Keys mashup album The Brothers of Chico Dusty, Wick-it's thoughtfully fresh remixes have earned him a reputation amongst listeners as a producer that only puts out the highest quality of tracks. His ability to deliver in a multitude of styles earned him recent support slots for acts like:Pretty Lights, Ghostland Observatory, Big Boi, Skrillex, Porter Robinson, MiM0SA, Three 6 Mafia, Yelawolf, PANTyRAiD, Girl Talk, SKisM, Borgore, Zoogma, Perpetual Groove, NiT GriT, Zeds Dead, CaspaOne of the secrets behind his fan base's rabid loyalty is that, although a handful of his tracks have recently been released under labels (and charted on Beatport), the majority of his music is available for free download on his SoundCloud page. With almost 2,000,000 plays and 500,000 downloads, it is clear people simply can't get enough Wick-it. His musical approach is tough to pinpoint given that his roots are in hip-hop, but elements of dubstep, rock and house music have all made their way into his repertoire.Wick-it's most recent full-length release, Grindhouse Basterds, is a Quentin Tarantino themed hip hop, mashup, dubstep, electronic extravaganza. It features remixes of Apathy, Celph Titled, Bun B, Yelawolf, Aesop Rock, Murs, Slug, Notorious B.I.G., KRS ONE, RZA, Ghostface, and more.With acts like Bassnectar, Z-Trip & MiMOSA now beginning to catch on (They've been using Wick-its original remixes as part of their current tours), it's only a matter of time before Wick-it is propelled to the top ranks of his craft.
Who's Going
Upcoming Events
Merriweather Post Pavilion
Thu, June 6
The National
Fri, June 7
Capital Jazz Fest, Day One
Sat, June 8
Capital Jazz Fest, Day Two
Sun, June 9
Capital Jazz Fest, Day Three
Tue, June 11
Of Monsters And Men
Sun, June 16
The xx and Grizzly Bear
Mon, June 17
Alice Cooper, Marilyn Manson
Tue, June 18
The Postal Service
Sat, June 22
Zac Brown Band
Wed, July 10
Vans Warped Tour
Vans Warped Tour with Taking Back Sunday, All Time Low, New Found Glory, Street Light Manifesto, Yellowcard, Pierce the Veil, Four Year Strong, Of Mice and Men, We the Kings, Breathe Carolina, Miss May I, Falling in Reverse, Blood On The Dance Floor, Every Time I Die, Mayday Parade, Blessthefall, Chelsea Grin, FOR TODAY, Memphis May Fire, Motionless in White, Rise To Remain, Sleeping With Sirens, The Ghost Inside, Vampires Everywhere!, TITLE FIGHT, Bayside, Senses Fail, Vanna, Polar Bear Club, We Are the In Crowd, Man Overboard, A Loss For Words, Funeral Party, Justina, I Fight Dragons, Machine Gun Kelly, Echo Movement, G-Eazy, Stepdad, The Constellations, Ballyhoo!, Champagne Champagne, T. Mills, Tomorrows Bad Seeds, Mod Sun, The Green, Iwrestledabearonce, Born Of Osiris, Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!, Fireworks, Transit, Make Do and Mend, Matt Toka, Tonight Alive, Skip the Foreplay, Sick of Sarah, Mighty Mongo, Captain Capa, I Call Fives, Hostage Calm, The Silver Comet, Twin Atlantic, The Darlings, Dead Sara, A Loss For Words, Koji, Wick-It The Instigator
Tuesday, July 24 · 11:00AM at Merriweather Post Pavilion