Even more important than the Fun In A Bucket that was last night's Juliana Theory/Anberlin show is this disturbing news from the CBC: remember how Ron Maclean almost walked from the network's hockey coverage a couple years ago? This is even worse: according to this, Don Cherry's future with the CBC and Hockey Night In Canada is in doubt due to rather strained relations between the two camps. It's probably about money, everything is, but they gotta bring this guy back!! I met him when I was eleven, and it remains a highlight of my existence.
Now, on to the show: after a minor act of God(the promoter's pun, not mine, given that Anberlin are Christian guys and all that) wherein a water main at the corner nearest the venue broke, the entire shebang was moved to Maverick's down on Rideau St.(much love to them for opening the doors to us too), and the show was even more intimate than it would have otherwise been. Bayside and the two headliners all rocked huge sets; Number One Fan...meh. They'll improve. The show was huge; many thanks to those who came out, and congratulations again to Richard Weitzel, who was there on us here at the ol' D. Keep your eyes peeled for an in-depth interview with Anberlin vocalist Stephen Christian as well.
Essential listening for April 29th, or as we'll now refer to it annually, The Day After Anberlin(can you tell the show was huge?), is the new album from Blindside, entitled About A Burning Fire. So, so sick, kids, no joke. 'After You're Gone' is enormous.
Society's Finest, one of Texas', um, finest metal bands...'finest'...anyone out there? Anyway, yeah, they've confirmed that they're still kicking and doing some touring this summer; if you feel like booking them shoot an email to this guy and he'll hook you on up. Also, a rare track from the band's 1998 split with My Spacecoaster can be heard here. I remember SF's Solid State album was huge. What was that record called again? I can't remember. But 'Monarch' and 'Knife Fight' were amazing songs. Next!
This enrages me: Derek Hess' Strhess Clothing is sponsoring a tour beginning in July with As I Lay Dying, Remembering Never, Himsa and Shadows Fall, right, and guess where the first show is on July 16th? Montreal. Guess where the next show is on the 17th? TORONTO. NOTHING in Ottawa. Crap. Here are the dates(date/city/venue):
7/16 Montreal, QC Rainbow
7/17 Toronto, ON Opera House
7/18 Albany, NY Glens Falls Civic Center
7/19 Buffalo, NY Infinity
7/21 Wilkes-Barre, PA Wyoming Valley Zoo
7/22 Springfield, VA Jaxx
7/23 Elizabeth, NJ Hellfest
7/24 Norfolk, VA Norva
7/26 Jacksonville, FL Jackrabbits
7/27 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Culture Room
7/28 Tampa, FL State Theatre
7/29 New Orleans, LA House Of Blues
7/30 Houston, TX Engine Room
7/31 Austin, TX Back Room
8/01 Abilene, TX Desparado's
8/03 Oklahoma City, OK Bricktown Live
8/04 Lubbock, TX The Pavillion
8/05 Albuquerque, NM Launchpad
8/06 Tuscon, AZ The Rock
8/08 Anaheim, CA House Of Blues
8/09 Las Vegas, NV House Of Blues
8/10 Grand Junction, CO Mesa Theatre
8/11 Denver, CO Bluebird Theatre
8/12 Omaha, NE Ranch Bowl
8/13 Cedar Rapids, IA Pigstock
8/14 Chicago Heights, IL Oasis One Sixty
8/15 Cleveland, OH Scene Pavillion (Strhessfest)
8/16th Grand Rapids, MI Intersection
8/17th Toledo, OH Headliners
8/19th Syracuse, NY The Lost
[hxc]
There's this long-dead band called Pink Daffodils that had this cult following and are still talked about today. I don't know much about them, but they had a female vocalist(Sarah?) and members went on to Red And Gold, One-21(great band) and buzzgrinder dot com, where, incidentally, you can find an old PD single for just ninety-nine measly cents right over here.
There's this club in Grand Rapids, Michigan called The Intersection, and the only reason I bring it up is because my mom's whole family is in and around Grand Rapids, and every friggin' tour hits this club or bar or whatever it is. I should just move there and never have to worry about traveling to shows. Bye Ottawa! Been a slice!
Just kidding.
Some more hilarity from the ever-entertaining Zao camp: the band is now thinking of Funeral For God as the title for their upcoming album. Uh.....huh. [theprp]
This is awesome: Until The End have amusingly set Kittie as the title to their new album, here's what they had to say: "Hey, this is the collective voice of UTE. We are going into Studio 13 in late June to do the new record. It should be out soon after. Since the band Kittie decided to name their new album Until The End, we are naming our new record Kittie. Booyakashaa!" Nice.
Crap! Chore have decided to cease. Doh! The band will play their final show May 14th in Hamilton, ON at the Sonic Unyon headquarters. This sucks. If you wanna read all the usual 'creative differences' stories or whatever as to why they're canning it, hit up their website.
If you really wanna chuckle, check out thescout and read proprietor Kevin Carson's response to the first letter he received in the latest Mailbag Rant. It's hilarious, I promise. I'm still smirking and I read it five minutes ago.
Aight, this might be fun for all you rap headz(headz bwahaha): the new Beastie Boys single, 'Ch-Check It Out', is available on the web:
Windows Media LOW
Windows Media HIGH
Real Media LOW
Real Media HIGH
You owe us. [punknews]
Only Crime, a band featuring Good Riddance vocalist Russ Rankin and uber-producer/band dude Bill Stevenson, has signed with Fat WreckChords. Check the punk rock massive out over here.
Three Season Ant are a band from New Brunswick that are making some waves; their brand of Coldplay-meets-new school worship has landed them a distribution deal with Christian Music Canada(CMC) and you can probably find their debut, 2 Days After Yesterday, in your Friendly Local Christian Retailer. That's where I first heard TSA. Look for an interview with vocalist Chris Stephens here at the ol' Disaster. And my thanks to Chris for being understanding. He knows what I'm talking about.
In the wake of the recent Grey Album by DJ Dangermouse(which I have in my possession and which truly bangs), there are a slew of Jay-Z-related mash-up albums dotting the landscape; this one, a combination of Jay's Black Album and Pavement's '91 classic Slanted and Enchanted, is called The Slack Album(piece it together), and I wanna hear it. Mad ups to sweetdisaster enforcer DJ Omnifik for this link and explanation.
Grandaddy(good band) were recently out on tour with Saves The Day and Hey Mercedes, but apparently they didn't think it went so hot, as evidenced by their calling the crowds "very Hot Topic" and referring to the entire ordeal as "a seven-week comedy of errors". Ungrateful wretches! Ah well, no skin off our nose. [soundthesirens]
Some Weakerthans news, because they're one of Canada's best bands - the Airfields And Woodlands tour will see the band playing all over Europe, focusing on Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and then they're coming back to Canada for some festival dates, including the Bluesfest here in Ottawa on July 16th. Ben Harper played last year and was thoroughly amazing, but that's not the point.
According to qchc, Ottawa's own Buried Inside will be touring eastern Canada June 18th-28th. As well, there's a seven-minute track from the upcoming album(produced by Matt Bayles) available for download over here! Get on it!
Evergreen Terrace(here in Ottawa with Every Time I Die May 15th be there y'all) have put out a covers record, and while I disagree with this writer, check out a review of the CD, and then go listen for yourself someplace.
For you Alkaline Trio fans out there(and I know you're tuning in!!), aversion.com has a new feature piece up on the band and their political causes/tours/splits with One Man Army, etc etc etc. As always where aversion is concerned, it's a good, informative read. Check it out.
The Constantines, another of Canada's best musical exports(so good live, seriously), are hitting the road around Canada and the United States o' America:
April 26 - The State, Regina
April 27 - Carpenters Union Hall, Calgary
April 28 - Canmore Hotel, Canmore, Alberta
April 29 - Liberty Lounge, Calgary
April 30 - Sidetrack, Edmonton
May 1 - Seedy's, Edmonton
May 3 - Logan's Victoria, B.C.
May 4 - Brickyard, Vancouver
May 5 - Crocodile Cafe, Seattle
May 6 - Dante's, Portland
May 8 - Cafe Du Nord, San Francisco
May 9 - Spaceland, Los Angeles
May 10 - Casbah, San Diego
May 11 - Plush, Tuscon, Ariz.
May 13 - TBA, Denton, Texas
May 14, 15 - Emo's, Austin
May 17 - The Jackpot, Lawrence, Kans.
May 18 - The Rockit Bar, St Louis
May 19 - Empty Bottle, Chicago
May 21 – On Tulip Festival, Ottawa
Don't sleep on it. No word on who's playing with them, either. Oh well. Do something for yourself for a change!!
I've never heard Taking Back Sunday, I don't think, but if you're interested, the band that was born as an offshoot of TBS, Straylight Run, has officially signed with Tony Brummel's Victory Records. Label debut to emerge in September, apparently. [punkhardcore]
Essential listening for April 28th is Keep Yourself Good Company's debut Procedures For Underground(2002). Local Ottawa band who really made a standout mood-rock album. Allegedly there's new stuff coming from them, but nothing that I know about.
Since I was at one point years ago a big fan of Dashboard Confessional, I guess I'll post this: the band's latest album, A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar, is being reissued by Vagrant Records to include a DVD of their MTV Unplugged performance doing covers of R.E.M.'s Automatic For The People album as well as interviews with the band and R.E.M. ringleader Michael Stipe. Release date is May 18th.
According to this article here, Funeral For A Friend are rumoured to be playing this year's Projekt Revolution tour, the one Linkin Park puts together. FFAF sharing the second stage with D12? What? This better be a joke. [chartattack]
Our daily recommended intake of humour, brought to you as always by Relevant: "Research shows that ninety percent of adults struggle to open child-proof packaging on medicines. Folks, be smarter than the bottle..." Yesh yesh y'all!
Our initial contest's beeg weeeener is one Richard Weitzel of Ottawa. He's going to see Anberlin opening up for The Juliana Theory tomorrow night(April 28th) at Babylon; as well, he's getting his paws on a copy of Anberlin's debut album Blueprints For the Black Market. Congrats, ol' chappie. The show will be large, and it's not sold out as of press time, so get yer rear in gear, I say.
Jamal 'Shyne' Barrows, a jailed rapper who had a part in the Puffy Combs shooting incident a couple years back, is expected to sign a three-million-dollar deal with Island Def Jam. That's right, kids: to make a hit rap record, all you need do is be a gun-toting thug and be in prison. Sad. [virtualfrequency]
Kind of in anticipation of Grits' appearance here in Ottawa this August, check out this interview with their former turntablist DJ Form. I guess he won't be here with Grits, which kinda sucks, but hey. It's a good read anyway.
Essential listening for April 27th: The Movielife's This Time Next Year. Rest in peace.
(They broke up last year, if you hadn't already made the connection.)
Today's essential listening is a guy I'll probably take some heat for liking so much: Jason Mraz is some American dude from somewhere in that great nation, singing songs and reminding me of what would happen if Kevin Max(dc Talk), John Mayer and Jack Johnson got into a brawl and the winner got to make an album. And he's on Elektra Records, making him labelmates of Blindside. The album is called Waiting For My Rocket To Come, and I like it.
Some news from Blood & Ink Records, Virginia's finest: the debut from TenThirtyThree, Emergency! Emergency!, hits stores this week(RIGHT AS YOU READ THIS GO GO GO!); look for a song from said album on this month's Amp magazine sampler wherever you pick up magazines. And check out B&I's website; it's dope.
In some other dc Talk news, another of their triad, Michael Tait, has been invited by none other than Carlos Santana to head out on a European tour. That's nuts. [Relevant]
Due out May 11th, the new Shrek 2 soundtrack features stuff from Dashboard Confessional(that still blows me away, how big that guy and his guitar and stool got), Tom Waits, and a new song by Counting Crows called 'Accidentally In Love'. I wanna hear the new Crows!
Essential listening Part Two today is Sick of Change's last album, These Shattered Lives, which I finally got back from my boy Ryan over the weekend. In the vein of Rufio and early Slick Shoes, but with an out-and-out lyrical focus on God, this band is no more, but I love them still.
No mention of this show to date, but here you be: Every Time I Die are gonna destroy Babylon(317 Bank St.) May 15th alongside Evergreen Terrace and two other bands I can't remember offhand. It'll be a fun show, but I'm more stoked on Unearth wrecking the place June 7th. Yesh yesh y'all.
It's about friggin' time: Dillinger Escape Plan have begun recording their new album in forever, Miss Machine. It's due out in June, and guitarist Ben Ol' Boy has this to say about it: "Miss Machine encompasses everything that we are about, everything we have been through as a band and everything that is important to us. We have enjoyed touring these past couple of years, but it is now time for new Dillinger music to surface." Word. [hxc]
In anticipation of Flynn's upcoming solo album In Like Flynn(obviously), check out some music from the L.A. Symphony ringleader. Booooyaaaaaah. And something else from the same source: Feed magazine, one of hiphop's finest underground mags, is set to drop a new issue soon after their hiatus. Welcome back, say we.
Project 86, among their other upcoming endeavours, have a new website, designed by the folks at Asterik Studios, those artistic geniuses. We here at the ol' D have an interview with Asterik/Demon Hunter dude Don Clark coming up; watch for it. [buzzgrinder]
Perhaps my favourite song from Failure On, 'Death To Traitors' is getting the video treatment from Beloved. You'll know when it's online, because we'll tell you. [theprp]
Two guys who used to be in Further Seems Forever, vocalist Jason Gleason and touring guitarist Brandon Swanson, are putting together songs as we speak. Their band doesn't have a name yet though. So really, what we're saying is just heads up, not that they're amazing or anything. Whatever. [thescout]
Interesting bit here about a band call 911; they're from Medellin, Colombia, and their label, Two Many Records, hosted Calgary punks Belvedere when they rolled through. If the concept of a band from north American rolling through Colombia sounds a bit odd, believe it: Belvedere were the first. How 'bout that? CA-NA-DA! CA-NA-DA! Really, this newsbyte was about Belvedere, not 911. I bet 911 are a good band though. [punknews]
This band from Saskatchewan, Despistado, is getting a ton of press in the last couple weeks surrounding their debut album's release; check out a song called 'A Stirstick's Prediction' and hear for yourself.
1340mag has some new interviews and stuff up. This occurs about once a month or so, so this is an occasion to be sure. Articles include Decahedron and...Dexter Freebish? Holy CRAP! I remember my friend Caroline in Montreal raving about Dexter Freebish like YEARS ago! How 'bout that.
From the lovely Katie at Facedown Records comes word that Sinai Beach(sooo heeeavy....) have entered preproduction for their next massive slab of metal. It'll be called Immersed, and it's being put together at Trax East Studios in New Jersey(New Joizey), where many a killer record has been assembled. Check out the band's website for all the fun stuff, including their upcoming tour with Most Precious Blood and Throwdown. This trek isn't coming anywhere near where I am, but I can live vicariously through others.
There's this band that Brandon over at Indie Vision has, they're called Josiah, and they're metal, and they kill. Bleeding Through are coming to Ottawa soon, and Josiah reminds me of them, and if you like what you're reading, get over here and crank up the rock.
My boy Dave is in a band called A Legend Falls here in Ottawa, with this other guy Ieradi who totally destroys on drums, and the band is playing the big stages at the Capital Music hall(May 10th) and Barrymore's(May 20th). How 'BOUT that? I'm super-stoked, and all y'all should come on out.
What I've heard of Technical Difficulties, the new best-of compilation from Training For Utopia(Solid State Records), is absolutely monstrous. I miss this band. You all should get into them now that they're long over and be cool like us here.
Check this here out; it's a review of the new Rag Men record; the more I hear about it the more I wanna hear it for myself. Old-school hardcore from a new band featuring members of Hatebreed and Earth Crisis? Bring it on.
This is the funniest thing I've heard in days.
The reason we do this 'zine here at the ol' Disaster can be summed up by looking at this. That is Kenny Bridges of Moneen, and we love him and all like him. Ta da!! [junkedcamera]
In anticipation of the band's opening slot on the upcoming Unearth/Burnt By The Sun show(June 7th, Babylon), check out a new mp3 from Quebec's A Perfect Murder right over here. [qchc]
Speaking of amazing noise bands like Training For Utopia, Converge have completed the rhythm tracks for their forthcoming Epitaph Records debut, You Fail Me. No release date has been set yet. Hold your horses!! [aversion]
hardcorechristian dot com: still the best news section ever. I wish I had the chutzpah to be as punchy as Sir Jorge. And he's funny about his Mexicanness. And he took his MOM to see The Punisher!!!!
Ever wondered just how manufactured a band like Nickelback is? Download this song, which is two of their singles played at the same time, and check the similarities. Trust me, it's worth a listen. [Stolen directly from noisetheory, because we despise Nickelback]
The new issue of Relevant magazine arrived in my mailbox yesterday; it's the usual amazing collection of thoughts, faith, culture, and a cover story on this completely-on-fire Christian kid from Atlanta named Dwight Howard - who just happens to be six-eleven, two hundred forty pounds, and a projected top-five pick in this year's NBA draft. Great feature. You really, really need to subscribe to this magazine; you can start by hitting their website and checking it all out. Move on it.
Fresh off their seven-game first-round exit at the hands of the Leafs, the Ottawa Senators have done what a lot of people expected and axed Jacques Martin has head coach. The longest-tenured coach in the NHL is now looking for work alongside two of his coaching staff(assistant coach Perry Pearn wasn't let go; he's pretty popular here in Capital City). Who else will get the boot? Keep your eyes on the sports pages. I hope feisty centre Mike Fisher stays, because I still have unfinished business with that boy. Too bad his Game 6 double-overtime winner was wasted. Stupid Belfour!
Aight, enough of that. Sign up for our mailing list, because I'm taking it upon myself to actually engage in such pursuits in future. Enter our little Anberlin contest, because a great CD is a terrible thing to waste. Read our interviews. And our CD reviews. More of that coming. Buy our apparel...wait, we have no apparel. Someday.
After much deliberation and gnashing of teeth, sweetdisaster was able to see Rufio rock stage last night at Babylon. I have several observations:
a) the Madonna cover of 'Like A Prayer' or whatever that song is called is killer
b) I've never seen so many tiny little kids out at a show before, going off like that
c) if you listened to Slick Shoes' debut album Rusty twice, that's basically a Rufio set. But fun nonetheless.
Essential listening today is the new and last Five Iron Frenzy record, a double album featuring their last studio record The End Is Near and the live set from November 22nd, 2003 in Denver, the last Five Iron show. Simply amazing. To those were and are Five Iron Kids: get this immediately. To those who were not: it's never too late to check out the band that remains the most important to me personally. Like that's not enough of a recommendation! C'mon!
Squad 5-0's new album Late News Breaking(Capitol) has been pushed back - again. Now it's June 29th when it will allegedly drop. Who knows at this point. Oh, and two of their shows with Jesse Malin are on Canadian soil:
20th June Toronto - Horseshoe Tavern
21st June Montreal - La Salla Rosa
So there you go. Props to Dave Leibold for the lowdown.
The new solo album from Flynn(L.A. Symphony) drops May 4th through Illect Recordings, and it's gonna be sick. You want this album.
Some Underoath news, because this is secretly all-Underoath-all-the-time fanzine(not really): the new album is called They're Only Chasing Safety, it drops June 15th, and you can hear a song called 'Reinventing Your Exit' right on over here. What're you waiting for?
Though not officially acknowledged as being in existence yet, I Am The Avalanche is a new project from Vinnie Caruana, the ex-frontman for the dearly departed Movielife; check out some demo material over here. Thanks to pastepunk for the heads-up. I remember I was supposed to interview Vinnie way back in the day. It never happened. Maybe this time around.
PunkRadioCast: all punk rock, on the internet, all the friggin' time. Hop to it.
Engine Down is a band I've never once heard; they opened for Thursday earlier this week here in Ottawa, but my point is their drummer is called Cornbread Compton. And that's pure hysteria.
If you're into the Fat Wreck Chords camp, check it out: a review of the new Rock Against Bush Vol. 1 compilation. Read!
Guess we can report it now, since absolutepunk.net has it up: Please Mr. Grave Digger from San Diego has signed a deal with Pluto Records; the band's debut Here's To The Life of the Party will be out June 22nd. I look forward to it. Yesh. I does.
I wondered how long long it would take, but the day has come: Tooth & Nail Records has a brand-new website for y'all kidlets to ooh and aah over. I'm already into the aah-ing phase, myself. Here's a question: the picture I see on the front page is Anberlin...but where's the fifth member? Did they lose someone and I haven't been informed? Heads will roll!!
Check it out: an interview with your favourite popsters and mine, New Found Glory. Good times.
Just got word of this, for you Christian pop kids out there: Canada's Wonderland down in Toronto is the site of the Spring Celebration '04; featured bands are Audio Adrenaline, Thousand Foot Krutch(playing their home turf), Relient K, Superchick and Newsboys(always a good time, those Newsboys). For info call 1-800-965-9324 or hit up the website.
Some news concerning everyone's favourite rockers, Lucerin Blue: bassist Paul Rennick has left the band to pursue other things, but no worries; the southern-Ontario quartet has lined up Brad Trott to take his place. Now, I may be wrong here, but I think Brad Trott ran Nonetheless Records out of Toronto waaaaay back. As well, the band have a late-notice show going down at the Shelter in downtown Detroit a week from tomorrow(April 29th), opening up for the mighty Project 86. How 'bout THAT!
Heeeere we go, kids: sweetdisaster.com's inaugural CONTEST!!! How excited are we over here? Enough to give away a copy of Anberlin's debut album Blueprints For The Black Market along with one ticket to see them live a week from tonight(that's April 28th, kids) opening up for The Juliana Theory. To enter, just shoot us an email with the answer to this simple question: what state down in the ol' US of A are Anberlin from? Where do they call home? Their stomping grounds? Their quarters? Shoot us your emails and we'll pick one lucky duckling to hit up the show. Your phone number and email address are required; you'll be notified the night before the show if you're the beeeg weeeeener.
Hit it up. More news next time.
Oh wait, the show last night. Poison the Well and Spitalfield were both no-shows thanks to border issues, but from all reports Thursday put on their typical amazing show. sweetdisaster enforcer DJ Omnifik landed some sweet shots of vocalist Geoff Rickly that may or may not be displayed in this fine space. We'll see.
Alexisonfire tonight with Rosesdead, Blue Skies At War and Keep It Up. Sold-out show, but there's always stiffers at the door and such. Head on down to Babylon and maybe you'll get lucky.
Holy crap: Eighteen Visions has signed a deal with Epic Records(home to bands like Silverchair and Rage Against the Machine, among others...even those bands are long since dead in the water...). Their new album Obsession will still be released through Trustkill Records. That is straight-up nuts. [buzzgrinder]
Another North Carolina band has joined Beloved on Solid State Records: He Is Legend has signed a deal that will see their debut album I Am Hollywood released this fall. Meanwhile, an EP entitled 91025(read that twice) will be out through Tribunal Records June 1st. Check this out to listen to some stuff. [lambgoat]
Project 86's re-release of Songs To Burn Your Bridges By will have some new songs the band is recording with rising producer Aaron Sprinkle(Anberlin, Dead Poetic). As well, the entire thing will be remastered for a June 1st release. Hot diggity. [theprp]
Dropped by my Friendly Local Christian Retailer earlier today and discovered that three essential albums have hit the shelves: a Training For Utopia best-of, the last release from Five Iron Frenzy(their last studio album and a live CD of their last show in Denver last November), and a Dogwood greatest-hits type thing containing a whopping 24 tracks. I'd buy them all if I was a rich man.
Some Alexisonfire news for you, simply because I like what I've heard from their upcoming second album: the record's called Watch Out, and it'll be released here in Canada June 8th through Distort Entertainment, and evidently in the U.S. with Equal Vision Records(no date for that release as of yet). The tentative track listing is as follows:
01 - "Accidents"
02 - "Control"
03 - "It Was Fear For Myself That Made Me Odd"
04 - "Side Walk When She Walks"
05 - "Hey, Its Your Funeral Mama"
06 - "No Transitory"
07 - "Sharks And Danger"
08 - "That Girl Possessed"
09 - "White Devil"
10 - "Get Fighted"
11 - "Happiness By The Kilowatt"
The band are heading out on tour as you read this; the first show is tonight(April 20th) in Montreal with openers Blue Skies at War and Keep It Up. That same bill plays tomorrow night here in Ottawa, sold-out show.
HOLY CRAP, PART TWO: Unearth, Quebec's A Perfect Murder and BURNT BY THE SUN are coming to Ottawa June 7th!! This show, I assure you, will be unequaled in technical skill and outright metal fury. GET a TICKET. *quakes*
From the Goldfinger camp: "The new record is 100% finished and we are almost done with the business crapola with our new label. This record is so different than anything we have done before. Brian says it's our best. It's my fave right now. I am so excited about it. There are 12 songs and no hidden tracks at the moment.. "Wasted" looks like the first single... " New Goldfinger! Wheee! [OGS]
From the same source, word is that the Deftones are hunkered down in their hometown of Sacramento, California, cranking out songs for their next album, the followup to last year's self-titled release that didn't really set the charts ablaze or anything. Good record though.
Worshipfest 2004's lineup was announced recently; the event goes down August 6th-8th at the Nepean Equestrian Park place(Ottawa's west end) and features appearances by Grits, John Reuben, KJ-52, Sonicflood and more. Oh, and Fred Penner is gonna be rocking the Kiddie Corner! I can't wait! For all the details check out worshipfest.ca.
The new albums from Blindside(About A Burning Fire) and Dead Poetic(New Medicines) are killer. Curiously, DP's Brandon Rike's voice sounds freakishly like Blindside's Christian Lindskog. A compliment, to be sure, since the similarities pretty much end there. We'll have reviews of both albums plus tons more in the near future, when we get our acts together.
Webmaster Dave and his wife Kelly are moving come June; please keep them in your prayers if you're into the prayer bit. We are. Thanks!
Word.
Greetings, fine readers. There was a small thunderstorm event earlier today while I was at Second Cup downtown(what up, Jen? I know you ain't reading this!), and you know what that means: NO MORE SNOW.
We hope.
Essential listening today, in celebration of my finally getting my copy back from the aforementioned lovely Jen, is The Reason's 2003 EP Problems Associated With Running. It was released on a Saskatchewan label called Lonely Tree Records, and it's very, very good. This band is on the rise following their name change and stylistic shift(they used to be known as Sewing With Nancie).
This story is the weirdest thing I've ever heard about during any NHL playoff season; St. Louis Blues forward Mike Danton was arrested in California yesterday and charged with being part of a murder-for-hire plot. As Don Cherry will probably not be saying about this guy, "Great Canadian kid!" Good Lord.
Speaking of California(what a segue), two bands from that populous state, Exhumed and Uphill Battle, will be in Ottawa May 22nd at Maverick's(Rideau Street, below Cafe Dekcuf). Get ready for the hardcore/metal assault. Local act Sordid opens the show. For details, call 562-3941.
Oh, man, that Danton kid referred to above is from Brampton, Ontario! NO! B-town's reputation must not be sullied!
A correction from yesterday's post: Evergreen Terrace didn't cover Sponge's 'Meatplow', because Sponge never wrote a song called 'Meatplow'. That would be Stone Temple Pilots circa 1994(a great STP album). SPONGE wrote a song called 'Plowed', and that's what Evergreen Terrace covered. Our insincere apologies for any confusion.
Terror have signed a deal with Trustkill Records; their label debut One With The Underdogs has an undetermined release date, but it's got thirteen Terror-style tracks, so look forward to it. [hxc]
Caedmon's Call(great band) have released a best-of called Chronicles, but that's not what's important: what's important is that Andrew Osenga, former frontman of The Normals(another great band) has been made an official member of Caedmon's. He'd been touring with the group, so I guess they figured, "What the hey, let's bring him aboard." Good move. [cmcentral]
Some Dead Poetic news: the band's brand-new album New Medicines came in at #15 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, which is very impressive. I can't believe I haven't heard this album yet. ASAP! This I swear!!
He Is Legend, formerly The Uriah Omen, have signed a deal with Solid State Records. They're a pretty good band, so keep an ear open for their debut album, whenever it arrives.
These are interviews with Norma Jean and mewithoutYou, conducted by the kids at George Washington University's radio station in D.C. My friend Vicky works there! Hi Vicky!! Oh, and the station's website features a nice picture of our boys Beloved wrecking stage at the Ottobar. [buzzgrinder]
Ex-Underoath and Sleeping By The Riverside member Scott Nunn has a new rock band out. You can hear some mp3s here. Scott will also be filling in on guitar for Further Seems Forever this summer for one of their tours. Innnneresting.
April 15th(that would be yesterday, friends) was Jackie Robinson Day throughout major-league baseball; it was April 15, 1947 that Robinson made his big-league debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking baseball's(and professional sports in general's) colour barrier. His number 42 was retired by the commissioner's office in 1997, and April 15 will be Jackie Robinson Day every year hereafter. I just read a book by Roger Kahn called The Boys of Summer, about the Dodgers of the 1950s, so I actually get the context here. For a full story on the celebrations around America yesterday, check this article out.
Apparently Lifehouse are no longer a band. I don't really care that much, but I know some of our readers are fans. So there you are. Go find out.
According to sweetdisaster source Ryan, the Switchfoot show in Montreal night before last was killer to the core. And apparently their drummer looks like sd.com webmaster The Flikkemizer!! Who knew?
Evergreen Terrace just put out a covers album, and I heard some of their choices at some ungodly hour of this morning at a friend's place, including their renditions of The Offspring('The Kids Aren't Alright'), Sponge('Meatplow'), Smashing Pumpkins('Zero') and, yes, U2's 'Sunday Bloody Sunday'. Some killer material, kids. Seriously. I was impressed.
Speaking of U2 covers, check out The Reason's version of 'Where The Streets Have No Name' next time the band rolls through your town. Stand close to the stage and holler until they acquiesce to their fans' demands!
If you live in or around Washington, D.C., heads up: "The DC area will be a happening place on May 22, as the HFStival(sponsored by 99.1 WHFS) will be front and center. Huge groups like P.O.D., Lostprophets, Papa Roach, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs will be playing. Rumors are brooding that Jay-Z, Cypress Hill, New Found Glory, and Taking Back Sunday will appear."
How much has The Passion of the Christ raked in thus far, including Easter weekend box? Check it out: $354.9 mil. Serious dough - good for eighth place among the highest domestic(American) grosses ever. Man.
The Milita Group have signed a band outta Ohio called Lovedrug, featuring a guy from Snailhuntr and two other guys from a band called Kerith Ravine. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't they on Five Minute Walk Records, like WAY back? I can't remember. Either way, Lovedrug's debut Pretend You're Alive, is coming out this summer. [bandoppler]
Essential listening today: Grits' 1999 landmark release Grammatical Revolution.... This record was not only one of the Christian hiphop albums I fell for, it was one of the first rap records that opened my eyes, period. Find it. And avoid their last album, The Art of Translation. I waited four years and it was a letdown. However, apparently Grits are dropping two full-length albums this year, so here's hoping.
So today I'm wandering around Bayshore Shopping Centre here in lovely west-end Ottawa(nice mall, for those of you thinking of doing the Ottawa Tourist Thing this summer), and I'm just putzing around, you know, hunting for a job opening somewhere maybe, and I hear 'Love Song' by The Cure over the PA, only it's not the Cure. It's the 311 cover. Weird to hear 311 in a shopping mall. Oh, and this writer has an interview at Music World Friday. So let's all hope he can get a job he'll actually maybe like.
This Just In: southern Ontario hardcore band Keep It Up have been added to the Alexisonfire/Boysnightout show at Babylon April 21st. The bill also features Blue Skies at War, who've been called Canada's answer to Boysetsfire(presumably that means pre-major label Boysetsfire). The show is sold out, but if you have a) a ticket or b) major clout with the organizers, you get Keep It Up in your face too. Booyah!
Some highlights from the Project 86 camp's latest e-newsletter: "Eight years into what has been a whirlwind career for the Orange County natives, Project 86 are returning to their roots, releasing their fourth studio album, entitled Songs to Burn Your Bridges By, June 1, 2004 on Tooth &
Nail Records....*a bunch of history-of-the-band stuff*....In 2003 the band parted ways not only with both record labels, but with their management company as well. From there the band worked independently, gaining new management (Zambooie Artists Management), beginning their own production company, Team Black Recordings, and started recording a new record themselves, eventually persuading Matt Hyde(Slayer, No Doubt) to join them in their efforts. Seeming more like an evolution from (1999's)Drawing Black Lines than the ominous direction (2002's)Truthless Heroes took, (Tooth and Nail president Brandon) Ebel recognized the transformation as a welcome change. And from there the band and label began talks, first in healing their relationship and joining forces for the upcoming project." So there you have it. After releasing their first three records with Tooth and Nail, the Project are back home, so to speak. I for one look forward to the new record.
Essential listening for today is Goldfinger's self-titled 1996 album. This fine, fine piece contains the classics 'Here In Your Bedroom' and 'Mabel', and was one of my first introductory punk rock primers. Yes. Move on it.
This Just In, Part II: Point Of Recognition's 2000 album, Refresh, Renew, a killer record to be sure, has an error: the second track is called 'Self-Inflicted Death Setence'. Not 'Sentence'. Just thought I'd mention it. Man, I miss them.
A little concert news for the masses: local band If Tomorrow Comes have been tapped to open for Evergreen Terrace; I can't remember offhand when this show is, but it's confirmed. Rejoice!
Ottawa band The Transit are, as you read this, touring half of Canada with their four-man rock ruckus, and the fellas at junkedcamera.com were in Kingston April 7th to catch them opening for Bear Vs. Shark; check out the live shots and review right over here. I think The Transit's homecoming show in Ottawa is May...2nd, I think? I think.
Congratulations to my Toronto Raptors on their two-game winning streak to wrap up their season. Too bad they couldn't win like that when it counted: in the NBA playoff race. BOOO! BOOO, I say!!!
I can't rave enough about this band Duvall, so instead of doing that, I'll let you all read this interview with vocalist/ringleader Josh Caterer, covering his former bands and where they're at now, emo and God. Yesh yesh y'all. Oh, and there won't be a Smoking Popes reunion, so quit your bellyachin'! [rockrebel]
We lied about Killswitch Engage the other day(maybe even yesterday); their new album is called The End of Heartache and it ain't out til May 11th. So we're a bunch of filthy liars around here. Sue us. It'll be a great record, by the way. [soundthesirens]
One of my longtime favourite pop bands, the venerable Fountains of Wayne, are gonna tour the world! Yes, it's true, kiddies. Okay, the band are only touring America. Whatever. No Canadian dates listed as yet. FoW won 'Best New Artist' at the Grammys a couple months back - even though they've been around since 1996. The Grammy folks aren't really on the ball. Tour itinerary:
04/19 - Syracuse, NY @ Landmark Theatre
04/22 - Piscataway, NJ @ Livingston Recreation Center
04/23 - Washington, DC @ Bender Arena
04/26 - Myrtle Beach, SC @ House Of Blues
04/28 - West Palm Beach, FL @ SunFest
04/29 - Lake Buena Vista, FL @ House Of Blues
05/01 - Atlanta, GA @ Music Midtown Festival
05/02 - Nashville, TN @ Best Buy Nashville River Stages
05/06 - Boston, MA @ Avalon
05/07 - New York, NY @ Roseland
05/08 - Chicago, IL @ 93XRT Rockin' De Mayo Fest
05/13 - Las Vegas, NV @ Palms Hotel & Casino
05/14 - Chula Vista, CA @ Coors Amphitheatre
05/15 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern LG
05/28 - Norfolk, VA @ Town Point Park
05/29 - Dewey Beach, DE @ Baycenter At Rusty Rudder
06/18 - Birmingham, AL @ City Stages
06/27 - Milwaukee, WI @ Summerfest
07/03 - Harrisburg, PA @ American Music Fest
07/14 - Albany, NY @ Empire State Plaza
07/25 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Hartwood Amphitheatre
If you wanted to see The Jealous Sound in Montreal opening for Switchfoot only to discover that they'd bailed on the tour, fret not: the band are heading out again with Piebald. The tour hits Ottawa at Club Saw May 26th. For the rest of the shows, check this here out.
As we reported here last week, Squad 5-0's new album Late News Breaking is done and will hit stores(in America anyway, who knows about us here in Canada) June 29th, and a tour with ex-D-Generation frontman Jesse Malin is being put together right as you read this!!! Aren't you excited?? [aversion]
This has me a little amped: a new Beastie Boys album summer? To The 5 Boroughs is apparently upon us. We'll see. And check it out: Beastie ringleader Adam Yauch is apparently the producer behind the new studio album from Bad Brains. No joke! New Bad Brains!
Even though Sir Jorge of Culver of hardcorechristian dislikes Atlanta metal heavyweights Norma Jean, he still posted the other day where apparently almost every show on the band's current tour has been a sellout. I highly approve! Norma Jean kill.
Holy crap: Illinois newcomers Haste the Day are gonna open up on the Zao/As I Lay Dying/Throwdown tour this summer. If this show doesn't come to Ottawa, heads will roll. Scallen or Nick or Josh, I hope you're reading this!!
If you watch MTV(sad if you do), behold, a reason to exist further: Norma Jean(them again) are cohosting Headbangers' Ball this coming weekend. How 'bout that!
Billy Graham, perhaps the greatest evangelist of our time, is doing another Crusade this summer. Who's the big-name musical act this time out? Relient K. Are you kidding me? What is this, a joke?
Head Automatica, a side project of Glassjaw vocalist Daryl Palumbo, are touring with Lostprophets and Dashboard Confessional. That has to be an early contender for the Weirdest Tour of the Year award. [punkhardcore]
Is it just me, or are N.E.R.D. annoying? Just a question.
noisetheory.org likes the new album from Dead Poetic - a lot, apparently. Four of five stars? Heck yeah. I gotta hear this record!
Calgary's finest punk band Belvedere are touring Canada on the Grind Tour soon; check out this feature on the band with frontman Steve Rawles, and check out the dates for the Grind jaunt here while you're at it.
The End! Wow, long update today.
You know how a lot of sports franchises have really famous fans? Like Craig Kilbourne from The Late Late Show is a supporter of the Minnesota Timberwolves, and Jack Nicholson has been a huge L.A. Lakers fan since the beginning of time? Well, our own Ottawa Senators have a big booster too: Matthew Perry, aka Chandler from Friends. So there! He wore a Senators shirt in The Whole Nine Yards a few years back, and he was at Game Three at the Corel Centre the other night. Take THAT!
A recap of the TulipFest concerts of note: May 15th Billy Talent, May 17th Moonlight Graham, May 21st has The Recoilers, Constantines and Department of Foreign Affairs all on one bill(can't miss that), May 23rd DJ Rise Ashen hits the decks, and Wide Mouth Mason plays their first Ottawa show in a while to cap off the festival May 24th, Victoria Day Monday.
I saw this thing on TV last night where apparently one can purchase sticker sheets of very realistic-looking bulletholes to put on one's car. Why? To give the impression that you just emerged victorious from a pummeling drive-by, a la 50 Cent and his ilk. Pathetic. What's that sound I hear? Oh, the surburban teenagers barreling towards the nearest retailer in their mom's Nissans.
If you're a fan of Lucerin Blue(and lots of you are, I can tell), check these shows out if you're nearby:
April 16th
Reality Check
Belleville, Ontario
7pm
613-969-0471
April 17th
Sonshine Fest
University of N.C.
Asheville, N.C
4-8pm
April 18th
Club U
1511 Flanagan Dr.
Christiansburg, Va
24073
How they're gonna get from Belleville('bout two and a half hours southwest of Ottawa) to North Carolina in one day is beyond me. But God bless 'em!
Trustkill Records has signed another band: Buffalo, NY's It Dies Today, who I've heard precisely one song from. Good song, for what it's worth. To keep up with the band in this time of glory, hit up their website on a regular basis. Yesh. [The Scene]
I'm almost peeing my pants over this one: Zao, As I Lay Dying and Throwdown are rumoured to be touring later in the summer - together. Are you kidding me? How can I live my live til then knowing this unholy ruckus is upon us?? More details when we get them.
If you're not aware, and you like the rock, Moneen and Park are playing Babylon tonight as part of punkottawa's third aninversary shindig. It'll be a great show, even if sweetdisaster won't be there. Too bad, so so sad. Just go watch Moneen destroy the place.
I like this a lot: "buzzgrinder.com is excited to announce the launch of Buzzgrinder Records which provides digital copies of out-of-print and hard-to-find music. We do this by selling through Audio Lunchbox(alongside Trustkill, Ferret, Jade Tree, Initial, Vagrant, The Militia Group and others), allowing us to keep costs down and pay out more to the bands. Every MP3 file is ripped at 192kbps and is shipped with no Digital Rights Management (DRM) - this means you can burn a copy onto a CD, your MP3 player, your computer at home, school, and work. Currently we have four albums available for download:
Tantrum of the Muse - Modern Mu$ick 2000. Musically Tantrum of the Muse sounds like what would happen if Rush and Helmet met at the Masters of Metal showdown and birthed a three-headed rock opera composer. (Lumberjack Distribution)
Pink Daffodils - Listless EP. One of the few bands who dare to create a mix of plain metal chords with crusty drum parts and weird influences like jazzy bass lines and catchy breaks. (Sinapu E-zine)
Pink Daffodils - Euroclydon(single). Limited edition print, pressed for Cornerstone 2000. Only 500 made, hand numbered - a true glimpse into what the full length could have been like!
Irving Rose – EP. At their heart Irving Rose are a brilliant metal band with little restraint.(The PRP 3.5/5)
[decapolis]
Killswitch Engage's new album dropped yesterday. I don't even know what's called. Shame on me!
Hope everyones' Easter weekend was solid good times. Two couples close to me were involved in car accidents over the long weekend; thankfully everyone is okay, even if my landlady's Aztec is a total writeoff. She says if they'd been driving anything other than a massive SUV, they'd have been killed. Thank God.
There's a lot of stuff to catch up on - I dislike not updating this space for like almost a week. So here we go. First off, I gotta hype this: your new favourite band is Brampton, Ontario's Wheels On The Bus, combining the off-kilter rhythms of fellow Bramptonians Moneen with the metal of Thrice and killer vocal melodies on top. Amazing! Hit up their website for all the lowdown.
If you live in or around Anaheim, California, June 6th would be a good time to be at the House of Blues, as Stavesacre is headlining a show and playing some four new songs. The other bands? Um, Project 86 and Dead Poetic. Yeah, those're three good reasons to show up. Too bad I live roughly 3500 miles away. As well, Stavesacre have a DVD nearing completion.
Pluto Records down in Texas have a new album from Beauty to Ashes coming later this summer; it's been a long-awaited work from the California metal band, and you all should be quaking in anticipation of this masterpiece!
This Just In: Mike Knott's 'Waiting For Your Turn To Smile', from his Hearts of Care album, is a stellar tune.
I had some time kill yesterday evening before the rock show(which The Fully Downowned, but not by much after Brampton, ON's Wheels On The Bus absolutely destroyed the stage at Cafe Dekcuf), so I hit HMV in the Rideau Centre to see what was on the listening posts. The soundtrack to The Punisher was, and I slapped the headphones on to see what was up in the latest in nu-metal. Songs by Chevelle and Finger Eleven were worth hearing, and not much else; Hatebreed's track toward the end, 'Bound To Violence' I think it was called, was a relief - true-blue hardcore brutality after so much posing.
Some hiphop/Ottawa news: the Black Eyed Peas show May 2nd is officially sold out; so tough luck if you wanted to go. However, to assuage your devastation, pick up a ticket pronto to catch The Pharcyde April 28th. Toronto crew Oddities are opening that show, and I won't be there due to a scheduling conflict(see the giant splash ad featured in this space), but you should go if you're not otherwise engaged.
Saskatchewan's Despistado(Jade Tree Records) received a favourable review in X Press this week of their debut EP The Emergency Response. I've never heard them, but there are precious few bands worth hearing from the Canadian prairies, and this is apparently one of them.
Happy Easter. Rejoice!
Late notice news: The Fully Down and Hartsfield, as often happens lately, have a show tonight(April 8th) at Cafe Dekcuf. The venue is on Rideau Street across from Record Runner(roughly), above this Irish bar...the name of which escapes me. Opening are Wheels On The Bus. Five bucks cover, show starts between 9:30 and 10pm. C'mon out for the Rock Ruckus!
There's a lot of Facedown Records news lately; here are some highlights in point form:
- Comeback Kid are heading out on a massive tour with Bleeding Through and Between The Buried and Me, with Martyr A.D. also appearing here and there. The show will be in Ottawa at Babylon May 5th, and I just realized that til five seconds ago I thought it was the 4th. Oops. The Canadian leg of the tour is as follows:
May 4 - Montreal, QC @ Salle L'X w/ Between The Buried And Me
May 5 - Ottawa, ONT @ The Babylon w/Between The Buried And Me
May 6 - Toronto, ONT @ Kathedral Room w/ Between The Buried And Me
May 7 - Guelph, ONT @ Trashateria w/ Between The Buried And Me
- Nodes of Ranvier are hitting the tour circuit with Glass Casket and Crematorium; the itinerary is too long to list here without running the risk of losing the attention-challenged readers among you, so hit up Facedown's site(up top there) for that.
- Strikefirst Records, Facedown's subsidiary, is going strong. Yesh.
- Both nights of the Facedown Fest a month ago in California were sold out; the shows were filmed for an upcoming DVD, so be on the lookout for that.
Omar of The Mars Volta has a solo project wrapped up; it's called A Manual Dexterity - Soundtrack Volume 1, and it's scheduled for release in July. As well, Omar has a film project under the same name. [buzzgrinder]
The annual Tulip Festival(so named because roughly a million and a half tulips around Ottawa's downtown core bloom at the same time - funny how these things work out) is coming around the bend; every year the music is kinda different, but this year's edition features some great bands. Check it out:
May 15th: Billy Talent
May 17th: Moonlight Graham
May 21st: Recoilers/Constantines/Department of Foreign Affairs(ex-Pop Shove its)
May 23rd: DJ Rise Ashen
Mat 24th: Wide Mouth Mason
I think the all-concert pass goes for twenty bucks before May....6th, I believe. You don't wanna miss these shows. It all goes down in Major's Hill Park beside Parliament Hill. I'll be there for as many shows as I can.
Caedmon's Call, one of my favourite acts period, have a best-of out called Chronicles: 1992-2004. The album is about twenty tracks, featuring a lot of the best-loved songs from their twelve years cranking out intelligent acoustic pop and some new/unreleased stuff. I already own all the records, but for those who don't, this is a good start. What a great band.
This here is the first real interview I've read with the guys in Symphony In Peril; I like their band and their album from last year, but I never really knew much about them aside from their vocalist being ex-Zao. Read and learn, kids!
The Juliana Theory have embarked on the tour that will lead them to Ottawa April 28th(alongside Anberlin, Bayside and Number One Fan, if you couldn't tell from that giant ad you saw before you saw this here); from all reports the tour goes swimmingly, and absolutepunk.net has retired the new Theory song 'French Kiss-Off' from their downloading section - total number of downloads is over 250,000. To quote, that is 'seriously insane'. As well, Midtown fans take note: the band will be joining the other four acts at the Toronto stop April 29th.
Last night Is Grace Enough opened for With Honor down at Club SAW; they were a last-minute replacement after two of the bands bailed on the bill, so IGE and Quebec band Forsaken Trust stepped into the breach and rocked tight sets. The new IGE songs have an almost-Norma Jean sound to them, and that is quite amazing to behold. There was even immense floorpunching going on, which is a first that I've seen.
In sports news - because that's obviously what you come here for - golfer Mike Weir is down in Augusta, Georgia preparing to defend his Masters championship, which he won last year, sparking a national wave of Canadian pride(he was the first Canadian to win it, doncha know). He's from a tiny little burg 'bout ten minutes from where yours truly was born oh so long ago, and as such he's wished the best of luck from us here at sweetdisaster. Or maybe just me at sweetdisaster.
In other sports stuff, the much-anticipated Maple Leafs-Senators series kicks off tomorrow night in Toronto. I'm a Senators fan, yes, have been since their inception in '92, but I'm calling it Leafs in six games. I'm sorry, but you can't deny evidence. Senators' goaltending is questionable, and Eddie Belfour in Toronto is as battle-tested as they come, plus he's got a hot hand going into the playoffs. Get ready for another humiliation, Ottawa! Prove me wrong if you can!!
Essential listening for today is MxPx's latest, Before Everything and After. I've been listening to these dudes for ten years, and I will follow them through anything. That's right! What!
This Just In: The Mars Volta, while maybe not worthy of all the hype, are certainly unlike anything I've ever heard before. De-Loused In The Crematorium is something else. Mad props to Brian for hooking a brother up.
Jill Paquette, whose self-titled debut I heard and liked a few months ago courtesy of Salem Storehouse, is Canadian. I didn't know this til I was scanning the Juno winners in the paper yesterday and saw the lovely Miss Paquette listed for Best Christian Contemporary/Gospel album. Good show. Paquette plays a brand of acoustic pop/rock that's old as dirt, but when it's done well still sounds great.
The new Tunnel Rats album, also self-titled, is pretty good. Not as good as some of the hiphop that's come out on their label, Uprok Records, but a solid sophomore effort. There's not enough of Sev Statik on the CD for my liking, but that's just me.
Ten years ago yesterday, Kurt Cobain committed suicide. While I'm not a superfan, Nirvana was one of the first rock bands I ever loved, for a variety of reasons, and Cobain was undoubtedly one of the most influential figures in popular music in the last twenty years. Rest in peace, ten years later.
In related news, George Strombolopolous(I think I spelled his last name correctly) helmed a retrospective documentary on Nirvana and the huge impact they and others of their era had on music, featuring a Speaker's Corner bit from 1994, a few days after Kurt's death, with a kid named Matt Wesley saying how much Kurt would be missed. Ten years later, Wesley is a member of Toronto band The Getaway(they opened for Eighteen Visions last fall), and he along with members of Closet Monster and The Roots had some interesting things to say about Kurt's legacy.
That's enough Cobain for now. Oh, except for after the doc was over, George said something to the effect of, "Everyone start making mixtapes and handing them out everywhere, and we can say goodbye to Britney." Not thirty seconds later, the Spotlight show featured Britney Spears. And that's sad.
Canadian Music Week was held March 3rd-6th(yeah, we know, we're late, but we weren't there) in Toronto and featured explosive performances from Death From Above(drums/bass madness), Metric, Moneen(here in Ottawa April 14th), The Reason and Blue Skies At War, who've been called London, ON's answer to Boysetsfire. Presumably that means old Boysetsfire, as their new stuff isn't that great. Incidentally, BSAW are opening for Alexisonfire and Boysnightout here in Ottawa April 21st. Yesh.
The new Dead Poetic album dropped today; it's called New Medicine, and it kills. sweetdisaster enforcer DJ Omnifik and I listened to maybe sixty seconds of the first song and were sold on its virtue. Singer Brandon Rike's voice has matured and the band has grown into a songwriting attack on the senses. Highly recommended.
Essential listening for April 6th, a beautiful if a teensy bit chilly day in the nation's capital, is Stretch Arm Strong's 2001 opus A Revolution Transmission. This is a must-own if only for the killer Counting Crows cover that concludes the album, but the record also contains perhaps SAS's biggest crowd favourite, 'For The Record', along with 'Dreams Away' and a slew of other breakdown-infested tunes. Amazing.
Some bands on TV in the next few days: Pennywise are playing The Late Late Show with Craig Kilbourne(CBS) tomorrow night, April 7th, and The Walkmen(who I actually like, somewhat surprisingly) are gonna be doing Carson Daly's show on the 9th. Rock. [punknews]
This Just In: Pedro The Lion's 'Magazine' is one of the best songs ever. The drum pattern that kicks in around a minute-fifty into the song just blows my mind. Oh, and the riff that drives 'Second Best' to its crushing conclusion is purely rock.
Oh MY goodness. One of the heaviest tours known to man has just been announced: Sinai Beach are hitting the road with Throwdown and Most Precious Blood. I'm not big on Throwdown, but those other two bands are unbelievably brutal, and if that tour comes anywhere near where I live, I'm on it like a cheap suit. Here's some initial dates; if you live in these cities keep your schedules clear:
May 15 - Houston, TX @ Club Fat Car
May 16 - San Antonio, TX @ Sin 13
May 17 - Dallas, TX @ Gypsy Tea Room
May 18 - Lubbock, TX @ Tokyo Joe's
May 20 - Phoeniz, AZ @ The Mason Jar
May 21 - Corona, CA @ Showcase Theatre
May 22 - Fresno, CA @ Big Game Studios
May 23 - San Francisco@ The Pound
June 25 - Corona, CA @ Showcase Theatre w/ Bloody Sunday, The Deal, Regal Line
[OGS]
More metal: Unearth have posted a video for the new song 'Black Hearts Will Reign' over here. Go watch it and heave your furniture around the room. Mind the windows, now.
Seth, a dude who runs buzzgrinder in Pennsylvania, also has a band called Movieline Romantics, and according to this review, they're worth checking out. Indie indeed.
pastepunk.com: humour abounds, and the CD reviews are better than ninety percent of what's out there. Get on it.
Ohhhhhh yes: hot on the heels of a move to Los Angeles, The Scene has been renovated, and it is good. Interviews with Walls of Jericho, Rag Men and Bloody Sunday, and so much more hardcore goodness. One of our fave 'zines here at sweetdisaster HQ.
Wow, lot of news today. Awesome!
Some Juno news to pass along(for our American readers, the Junos are the Canadian equivalent of the Grammys, except with an inferiority complex): our boys Billy Talent took home Best New Artist of the year on the strength of their massive singles 'Try Honesty' and 'The Ex'(read our interview with vocalist Benjamin over here); Halifax native Buck 65 won for Best Alternative Album(Talkin' Honky Blues is an amazing record - go get it); and a lot of mediocre rock bands won tons of awards, because that's just how the business works. A highlight was Billy Talent's acceptance speech, in which three-quarters of the band descended to the podium, whereupon Benjamin announced, "We've lost out guitarist! Seriously!" Fortunately, the pompadour-enhanced axeman found his way up, and the band proceed to name-check Alexisonfire, Death From Above(with whom BT toured last fall) and Winnipeg's finest, The Weakerthans. I don't care who says what: I like Billy Talent.
In other news, I saw The Wallflowers performing in an episode of CSI last night.
That's all for tonight.
Quick hit: we've been made aware of a Canadian operation worthy of your time. How's 24/7 punk rock on internet radio grab you? Figured you'd like that. Check out PunkRadioCast for more punk than you can shake a stick at. Two sticks, even. There's some bad language involved, for those of you offended by such things. You've been warned. For the rest of you, get on this one.
If you're into contemporary Christian music, this is pretty funny. But as an aside, one of the musicians mentioned will be interviewed by sweetdisaster in the future. No set date yet.
I found out yesterday there's a guy down in Atlanta by the name of Travis Groo, who has a festival called GrooFest. Is that not the most ridiculously amazing name for a festival ever? Man! I WILL go to GrooFest!
Essential listening for today's abbreviated news update: Straight Faced's Conditioned album, from 1998 or thereabouts. They broke up long ago, but their legacy lives on. 'Against' is one of my favourite hardcore tracks ever.
Ray Buchanan, Pro Bowl NFL cornerback, signed a five-year, twelve-million-dollar deal with the Oakland Raiders the other day; this is the same guy who put out a rap album with BEC Records a couple years ago. Innneresting.
I saw a rerun of P.O.D. performing 'Will You' on Leno early this morning(insomnia struck again), and I was torn between admiring guitarist Jason Truby's skill and bemoaning Sonny Sandoval's subpar vocal performance. Bummer. Maybe all the rumours I've heard over the last few years about the band not hacking it live are true.
I'm with buzzgrinder; I don't know how good this is: Rancid's Tim Armstrong has apparently co-written a 'majority' of the songs for Avril's upcoming album Under My Skin. Eeeek. [buzzgrinder]
Check out this review of one of our new favourite tech metal bands, Ontario's own The End. Rooooock and roooooooll attaaaaaaack.
Remember the other day when we posted a bit about the upcoming Projekt Revolution tour? With Linkin Park and all them? Less Than Jake have been added to that tour. What is this, some belated April Fools' joke? That's idiotic. [theprp]
Ohio's Twelve Tribes(killer band) are putting out their Ferret Records debut The Rebirth of Tragedy June 1st. I missed these guys and Thursday in late 2001 because Babylon Nightclub's door procedures were and remain a little screwed up. So hopefully if they come back I'll actually see them. I remember Tomo coming out the door after Thursday's set going, "That was the most amazing thing I've ever seen." I never forgave Babylon. But yeah, Twleve Tribes. Check them out.
A reminder: Zao are invading Ottawa June 12th at Babylon. It's the big ol' Ferret Tour with them and Scarlet and the aforementioned Twelve Tribes, along with openers Remembering Never. I'm really hyped about this one.
We've received some encouraging news here at sweetdisaster rockville: our hits and unique visitors to the site have risen steadily with each consecutive month since we hit the web last September. How 'bout that? I'm thrilled, personally. Thanks for hitting us up on a regular basis. We'll do our best to make it worth your time.
Art and commerce in a beautiful mix: Point Five Limey Records, baby.
Recently confirmed: Alexisonfire are coming back to the nation's capital April 21st with openers Boysnightout, Rosesdead and another act in tow. I've heard amazing things about Rosesdead; Burlington band that will be enormous if they're worthy of the hype. Babylon, five pm door time, twelve bucks. Be there.
She's an artist worth talking about, and down in the heart of Texas, Sarah Harmer is apparently irresistible. I'm a long-time fan of her solo work, and her old band, Weeping Tile outta Kingston, Ontario, wasn't half-bad either. Too bad the major-label thing never worked for them. Man, memory trip. All Of Our Names is Harmer's latest, and it's killer. And get You Were Here, her breakout album from a few years back.
Essential listening today is a band that's long broken up: Dear Ephesus, my friend Brian and I agree, would be absolutely enormous today if they hadn't risen and fallen in the '90s. Download a song called 'Portrait' if you can find it, and you'll see what we mean.
I have on as I write this one of my old 7ball compilation CDs, and this one ends with a huge ruckus: 'One Day' by a then-underground band called P.O.D.. Man, those were the days!!
This story blows my mind; my boss and I saw it on CTV News last night and I still can't believe this guy. If I was that rich I'd be all over my winnings like white on rice.
If you live in or near Wilmore, Kentucky, check this action out for a big ol' rock and roll extravaganza. [Relevant]
Evanescence headlined last year, but this year's Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle has its first headliners confirmed for this time 'round: Nas and The Pixies. Sounds like heaven to me. The event runs September 3rd-6th on the left coast.
You know, I've been doing this 'zine thing since the fall of 2000, and never once have I gone to whatever 'zine I'm helping with and had a banner ad. So that big ol' Juliana Theory thing you just saw is pretty special to yours truly. Banner courtesy of webmaster extraordinaire The Flikkemizer!!! He'll kill me for saying that too. Been nice to know y'all!
I took a look through the liner notes of Songs About Jane, the newest from Los Angeles' Maroon5, and in the thank-yous Mark Fisher is mentioned. Could this be the same Mark Fisher who runs 1340mag? Innnneresting...
Melissa Auf der Maur, ex of Hole and Smashing Pumpkins, has a solo album coming out; she was here in Ottawa a couple months ago, and the lead single/video I actually like. Can't remember the title of the song for the life of me, but it's got a good, dark, grungy vibe to it. No surprise given Auf der Maur's pedigree. The album will be out May 18th, with a tour with The Offspring in the works to coincide.
Blue Man Group were on The Tonight Show last night, and during their performance(they're stunning) they busted out a rad version of AC/DC's 'Back In Black'. Just thought I'd pass that along.
Kyprios is assaulting the charts with his single 'This Is My Hit', and it's a rarity: hiphop in the mainstream that I not only tolerate, but thoroughly enjoy. He's Canadian; opened up for Swollen Members on tour last fall. I think he's from Vancouver. Either way, check him out.
I found out yesterday reading Alternative Press(if that's too unhip for you, too bad) that Yellowcard vocalist Ryan Key was originally in Craig's Brother! Remember Craig's Brother? Technical new-school punk distortion goodness on Tooth and Nail a few years back? Man, that brings back memories.
In the same issue of AP, there was a publicity shot of Bleeding Through in which the massive bald-headed dude in the band was rocking a Sinai Beach t-shirt. Such a great band. Incidentally, Bleeding Through will be in Ottawa with Comeback Kid in May.
Every Time I Die's Keith Buckley is easily the funniest interview in the hardcore/metal underground. He makes me hysterical.
The Canadian Recording Industry Association took a major hit yesterday with a federal court judge rulilng that absolutely nothing is wrong with P2P filesharing. The judge likened the process to a photocopier in a library surrounded by copyrighted material, and I see his point. So all you downloading fiends in our fair nation: party on! For the full story on yesterday's ruling, check this out.
I'm listening to these guys right now as I type this: read a review of the new album from The Beatiful Mistake. I don't know if they're as amazing as the review states, but then again, I haven't heard their new stuff yet either. 'On Building', one of their older songs, is a killer tune.
Interesting bit out of Australia: "So we're all sitting behind Soulseek and Kazaa downloading the latest releases, destroying the music industry as we know it, right? Well, that's what they're trying to tell us anyway. So why did Australia Recording Industry Association(ARIA) have it's best year ever in 2003?
"In 1998, before Napster was even a twinkle in Shawn Fanning's eye, Australian record companies sold 39.6 million albums. Fast forward to 2003 and it's gone up to 50.5 million.
"You can't argue with the figures. P2P file trading is good for the music industry."
[noisetheory]
Wide Mouth Mason, a killer Canadian rock band from Saskatchewan, are still alive and kicking; I had no idea what'd become of them, but chartattack set me straight with the news that the band is doing a mini-tour(dates here), and they're still actively recording. Awesome.
The Simpsons' actors are on strike! Read the story!! GIVE THEM WHAT THEY WANT! YES! [Relevant]