It's been almost a week since one word was written in this space due to the passing of my grandfather on my dad's side. Johannes(John) Postma died July 22nd at the age of 76. Burial happened Tuesday in his hometown of Chatham, Ontario, where he and his wife Anne lived for forty years. Grandpa: you're a new man now. Love you. Forever's a long time - I'll see you around.
Now. Even though we've been silent here for a week, the stats show that the traffic has spiked considerably. What's going on here? Thanks so much, everyone, for sticking with us.
Essential listening for July 29th is Next In Line's debut album on Indie Vision entitled Traffic. Not only is the record a great slab of rock and roll intelligence, but the band thank-yous take place at the end of the record with clips of Goldfinger, Smash Mouth and Fitty Cent rolling in the background while the band makes smart remarks. Gold!
Incidentally, that Indie Vision site is brand-new, thanks to a guy named Dave McDonald, which by the way is the same given name as that of sweetdisaster enforcer DJ Omnifik. Small world.
Just so everyone knows, Montreal's Blessed By A Broken Heart has been signed to Blood & Ink Records down in Virginia, along with Minnesota's Foreknown. The respective albums will be out this fall(Foreknown's entitled Calm Seas Don't Make Sailors), and the bands will be tearing it up on the road. Check out the site for all the fun details.
There's a pizzeria in Chatham called Quo Vadis, which is the same name as the metal band from Montreal or Quebec City somewhere. I think that's funny. No word on the state of the actual cuisine. Next time I'm in Chatham(Labour Day) maybe we'll swing on by.
Happy 25th birthday to the Walkman, first produced by Sony a quarter-century ago last week!
Virginia's Winter Solstice have made a pretty significant jump in the biz: the Harvest Earth Records crew have pole-vaulted their way onto Metal Blade Records(Unearth, As I Lay Dying, etc etc). Says here, "The band will head back to Cloud City Studios in Detroit, Michigan, in October to start recording their debut full-length release that will be out on Metal Blade Records in the winter of 2005." Not too shabby. [buzzgrinder]
Evanescence ringleader Amy Lee is apparently quite the marvel in a live setting, as written here by a Florida concert attendee. Don't forget: 'Tourniquet', one of the best songs from the band's massively-platinum Fallen, was originally written by drummer Rocky Gray's first band Soul Embraced. You should hear the original - metal to the teeth.
Says over here that Ohio's Haste The Day have moved over ten thousand copies of their debut, Burning Bridges, since it hit stores in April. I for one am surprised, but in a good way - they're a good, if unoriginal, metalcore band.
Attention: anyone who lives near Ford, New Joizey: Underoath, Taking Back Sunday and Rise Against will all be rocking Vintage Vinyl in Ford August 9th at five in the afternoon. Part of the Warped off-shoots and stuff. What a bill that'll be. How many people would I kill to be there? Hmm.
Eric Shirey, formerly of Pluto Records down in Texas, has started his own promotions/management company. If you're in a kickass rock and roll band and need some hookups, see if Eric'll help you out; visit the Scotoma Promotions website.
Good heavens: scarcely a month after bringing the guy in, Most Precious Blood drummer Ryan has left the band, and this is bad news, considering MPB are heading to New Zealand and Australia and Europe and places like that. If you wanna play drums for 'em Brooklyn style, send them an email. [lambgoat]
Shows sweetdisaster will hopefully be at in the near future here in Ottawa: Strike Anywhere tomorrow night(Friday, July 30th) and Marathon on August 12th at Club SAW. Word. Oh, and Worshipfest August 6-8.
Two bits of stupid news: Virginia's Scarlet(ex-Spitfire - what a huge band) have lost their bassist and had a lot of their equipment stolen by the usual idiots who do that to bands with no money, forcing them to drop off the tour they'd planned with Nora and .hopesfall over in Europe. As well, Thousand Foot Krutch vocalist Trevor McNevan, who's getting married next week, had his car stolen, wrecked and burned in his home town of Peterborough, Ontario the other day. The timing, obviously, couldn't be worse, and we'd ask for your thoughts and prayers for Trevor.
September in Edmonton, Alberta(no date confirmed as yet) will see something called Harvest Moon going down featuring bands like Project 86, Blindside, Emery and Calgary-based newcomers Kiros(recently seen on the Drive-Thru Records cross-Canada tour). Someone get me details on this!...oh, wait, this has just been handed to me...wait a second here...okay, it's being put on by the 780 Christian Music & Arts Society out of Edmonton(780 being the area code there), it goes down September 11-12 , and all the details can be found over here. Ta da!
...hold up here - check out who else is playing this Edmonton ruckus: Pigeon John(one of the best rappers out there), Lucerin Blue, Brave Saint Saturn, Five Iron Frenzy's Roper(solo) and Stereotrap, among others. Holy crap! I gotta go to this!
Anyway. Thanks to Dave Leibold, host of CKCU's Sunday-morning show over My Head, for that information. On to more news.
It's official: the best new-school metal band in America, Unearth, will be touring this fall with Terror, The Black Dahlia Murder and Remembering Never. No Canadian dates thus far. As well, the band will be overseas in November alongside Sick Of It All, 7 Seconds and Walls of Jericho. Man, they stay busy. [theprp]
Guess how much tickets are to see Hatebreed open up for Slipknot at the Corel Centre here in Ottawa. G'head, guess. No? FORTY-THREE DOLLARS. Right.
Only a month and a half til the new album from Helmet!!
Sony/BMG now controls twenty-two percent of the global music market now. Just thought you'd all like to know. Stick to the underground, kids. [thescout]
In Bands Whose Album I've Had Almost A Year And Still Haven't Reviewed It Yet news, Maxeen have left the comfy confines of SideOneDummy Records to take the flying leap onto the Good Ship Warner Bros. How 'bout that.
The new Strung Out record will be called Exile In Oblivion, and tour dates and fun stuff can be seen over at their website. [punknews]
Horse the Band, pioneers of Nintendo-core(you have to hear it to believe it), are heading our way: the band is on a Canadian tour of sorts that will see them here in Ottawa August 4th and the night before that south of the city in Kemptville. The rest of the Ontario/Quebec dates are over here.
How 'bout this: Late Night with Conan O'Brien will have a very special guest on August 10th - punk forefathers NOFX! Weird/awesome.
This Just In: Beastie Boys' 92 album Check Your Head is just ridiculous. Go find it. The bass on 'Gratitude' is so sick. Disgusting. And of course, 'So What'cha Want' is my favourite Beasties song ever. EVER!
There are two interviews you could read if you like Atreyu and Demon Hunter over 1340mag. The DH piece is with vocalist Ryan Clark - when you're through with that go read our own interview with Ryan's brother Don, Demon Hunter's co-guitarist. What up. It's over in the interviews section there, top left.
Finis.
Renown, somewhere outta southern Ontario I think, has some interesting new stuff, including an interview with the newly re-christened Manic Drive that divulges all the stuff about the renaming, the new record deal, the new record, etc etc etc. Also, for local readers, this band Hello Kelly that was a late add to the Worshipfest roster is reviewed over here. Did you know they're from Orangeville, Ontario? I spent chunks of time there in my youth! What up O-dot!!
Craig's Brother's appearance here in Ottawa Sunday night has been nixed due to poor ticket sales. So the 25th can now be reassigned to other things. You've been told. I was pretty excited for it, too. Bummer.
Thirty Called Arson broke up last year, but another band(no one saw this coming I bet...riiiight) has been formed: Machinist, from Oklahoma. Word. Bring the technical metal assault. [hxc]
Essential listening for July 22nd is puuuuuuure murder: Sintaxtheterrific's 2003 long-player Simple Moves. Hiphop straight from the basement, baby!
Into kiddie animation? The crew behind the ever-almighty VeggieTales(SO much fun, seriously) have moved. To Nashville. Big surprise there. Yo, the friggin' governor of Tennessee released a statement about this. So I guess it's big news. Who knew?
Speaking of hiphop(and we weren't), the new record from Grits, Dichotomy A, kinda ticks me off, but for a more unbiased review, cmcentral.com comes through over here. I just wish they'd go back to the style they had on their self-titled '99 album. Hmph.
This band Gatsby's American Dream(who I always read about at theprp.com - weird) has signed with Fearless Records(I think Glasseater was on that label...weren't they?). This apparently went down while GAD was touring with As Tall As Lions and Tooth & Nail refugees Slow Coming Day(good band). Just passing along the news if you're a fan. [buzzgrinder]
The Juliana Theory's Brett Detar is hooking up with ex-Sense Field guy Chris Evenson to record a track for a Nettwerk Records(OOOH CAAAANADAAAAA) Christmas compilation. It'll be out, funnily enough, in October, just in time for...Halloween. Yes.
Second update today. I guess we're trying to make up for lost time what with that vast canyon of a three-day absence over the weekend. We have interviews coming up(I swear I'm gonna transcribe them ASAP, despite my offline-world pressures!) with Anberlin, Comeback Kid, Zao and uber-producer Steve Hindalong(Cool Hand Luke, The Prayer Chain, the City On A Hill series). Not to mention an absolute landslide of reviews, because I have CDs on my floor that have been in my possession for many months. There are labels out there who want my head, I bet. Bummer, no? We'll fix that when we can.
Essential listening for July 20th is some hiphop: Raw Materials, the debut from Atlanta's Mars Ill. This is where it began, kids - expect domination from Mars when their new album drops later this year; in particular, 'Touch And Go' featuring Sev Statik is a seriously bomb track. Wow.
The Chariot have a record coming out on Solid State Records November 12th. It's called Everything Is Alive, Everything Is Breathing, Nothing Is Dead and Nothing Is Bleeding. That is a ridiculously ponderous name for a friggin' album, but hey, I'm not the one with the call. I'm still peeved at the fact that they were stopped at the border last month and canceled their entire Canadian tour, regardless of whether or not it was their fault. The upcoming album is apparently a complete annihilation of sanity, winning over even the harshest critics(we see you, hardcorechristian).
Joining Hawk Nelson as Bands That Have Contributed Music To The WB's Summerland TV Series: Jars of Clay. Big whoop. Great band, TV sucks.
Yaaaaay! Slick Shoes(what a great band) are writing their next record, and allegedly recording it next month. I'm such a drooling fanboy of this band.
New music from Stavesacre: over here!
Hey, um, in case you weren't aware, Number Twelve Looks Like You possess the following qualities:
1. Their name is really weird.
2. They're probably completely normal-looking dudes who just named their band something weird.
3. Their brand of insane-core spazz-metal with unbelievable low-end sounds sometimes breaks unexpectedly into beautiful acoustic passages(a la 'Empty Calm').
4. They make my vision blurry they're so technically spastic.
Anyway. All this to say they're a fun band to listen to if you can handle how screwed up this bit they do about eating a little girl is. Really demented. Too bad my copy of their CD(Put On Your Rosy Red Glasses) is scratched up.
Amazing Band Name of the Day: Tunes For Bears To Dance To. Wild. [punkhardcore]
Speaking earlier of labels wanting my head due to my procrastination, one such record I've yet to cash in my two cents on is that of Maxeen - who, by no coincidence, have put up a brand-new WEBSITE!!
Some secondary information on the aforementioned Comeback Kid sophomore album: it'll apparently be produced by Jim Seigel, who's worked with the likes of Give Up The Ghost and the Blood Brothers. I've never heard of the guy, but whatever floats their boat. [noisetheory]
We screwed up in the post earlier today: the opener on Eighteen Visions' 'mini-tour' thing is not The Day, as we said - it's sd.com faves Haste The Day. Whoever we lifted that news from has a problem omitting words. I thought it was kinda weird I'd never heard of The Day. So yeah. We suck. But at least we own up to it!!
As usually happens, I can't make this any funnier despite my best efforts, so I'll just post it as is: "A group of college students in Lima, Peru donned Spider-Man masks, took over several campus buildings, and demanded the removal of the university dean. Good thinking, kids. Because nothing says "I mean business" like Halloween costumes. I'm going to go put on my Aquaman suit and ask for a raise now..." Once again, Relevant have made me hysterical. Well played.
Innnnneresting: MTV(boooo! BOOOO!) actually presents something worth reading: an article on the rise of spirituality in hiphop. So, what happens here is, you go read that, and then you hit this or this for some backup.
Okay, so there woulda been a little update yesterday, but for love nor money I couldn't get the computer to work properly/load this here, so sorry for the two-day absence. Congratulations one more time to the newlywed Jason and Angela Gehrels, off enjoying their honeymoon this week. Nice wedding, reception went a little long. Two Dutch families - I should've predicted a lengthy afterparty. Nice to run down some old friends I hadn't seen in years. And yeah, I took some heat for wearing a Throwdown t-shirt, but whatever; some other dude showed up in full-on beach regalia, so I couldn't have been that out of line.
According to valued source Dave Leibold(check out Over My Head Sunday mornings on CKCU down at Carleton University), Mississauga's One Cross are changing their name to Manic Drive effective this September. The band is playing in Port Huron, ON soon as part of GodStock(also featuring Tooth & Nail hotshots Hawk Nelson as well as T&N alumni Lucerin Blue). Their website has all the details.
This Just In: I don't care how 'stereotypical' or 'old-school' they are" - Terror bring the ruckus. You know they have a guest shot from Dilated Peoples on their newest(One With The Underdogs)? Awesome!
Some news from Eric Shirey at Scotoma Promotions: GODS, the new band fronted by ex-Zao founding member and longtime drummer Jesse Smith, will be recording their debut album at Poynter's Palace in Little Rock, AR with Barry Poynter(Juliana Theory, Living Sacrifice etc etc); no title yet, but the band's in talks with 'one label' to release it. Presumably that'll be Pluto, but that's just pure hearsay on my part. Got that, rumourmongers? HEARSAY. It's NOT FACT. Get it straight. I'm just GUESSING. Anyway, the band's website ain't up yet, but in the meantime, you can check this out for your GODS fix. As well, the band will be hitting the road this fall with metal monsters Society's Finest; you can find the itinerary for that over here. SF, incidentally, have recruited new guitarist Kevin Roddy, formerly of This Runs Through(the same band that Underoath stole their new singer from).
There was a nice little feature on MuchMusic yesterday: host George Strombolopolous(yeah I spelled that right) trundled out to Ajax(ouside Toronto) to invade the quiet suburban home of Underground Operations, the label home of Closet Monster, Bombs Over Providence, Hostage Life and Protest The Hero. These guys might only have four bands, but speaking as someone on their email list, they make sure everyone's informed, and they're way more active in terms of events and cross-promotion than some labels I could name with twenty times more bands. Check out the website.
A few months back I believe I predicted that Yellowcard's 'Only One' would make a great single - and I saw the video for it recently, thereby making me a complete genius and sure to be the head of a major record label before the year is out. Anyway, now that I'm done tooting my own horn, some other video news: the video for Switchfoot's 'Dare You To Move'(arguably my favourite song from the band's entire four-album catalogue) is pretty good. Very dramatic and clearly paid for by a major label, but good. What a show they put on two weeks ago.
In somewhat related news - to Yellowcard at any rate: the pop-punk monolith's vocalist Ryan Key used to be in a band called Craig's Brother, and they'll be in town July 25th(that's this Sunday, kids) at Maverick's alongside locals NSF and The Less You Know. Show's being put on by our broheems over at ilubricateyou(no, the name isn't some porn reference), and all shall descend on Maverick's that night, say I. Remember listening to CB when they were technical punk, I do.
Misery Signals are a little too Poison The Wellish and not nearly as brutal as I'd been led to believe, but for all that, I'm still a fanboy.
Tomorrow night, July 21st at Club SAW downtown, The Fully Down and a bunch of other bands I don't really care about that much are playing - but I mention here because it's the last show put on by Nick DC at Asymmetric Productions; this guy has put his money and his rep on the line for years to bring Ottawa kids the rock, and everyone better show up to say g'bye. I know I will. Word.
A band that was on last year's Black Flag tribute put out by Initial Records(Black On Black, it was called), Playing Enemy, has signed with Hawthorne Street Records; their debut I Was Your City will be out late this year. In the meantime, check out some demo action at the band's website. [ChamberSpinsThree]
I probably don't care that much about them, but Goodfellow Records have signed, undoubtedly, the best-named band alive: The Smackdown. If you really wanna hear them, try this on for size. What an awesome name.
Some news that does excite me: the second Comeback Kid album is said to be coming out in February of '05. Recording begins in October. Woohoo!!!
Razor Crusade have signed with Deathwish Inc.(owned by Converge vocalist Jake Bannon, doncha know). Again, I've never heard this band, so why am I mentioning it? They're from THE NETHERLANDS!!! GO DUTCHIES GO!!!! Check out their probably-not-very-Dutch website!
After The Beautiful Mistake had to bail on Warped tour commitments this summer due to two members splitting, things are back on track; in an open letter at decapolis.com, ringleader Josh Hagquist says, among other things, that former Copeland drummer Rusty Fuller is now behind the kit for TBM. Great band, Copeland. See what a seamlessly-inserted plug that was for a different band entirely? Man, I'm smooth.
Interview with 'the greatest band in existence today'(quotes ours): Starflyer 59. Need I say more?
Eighteen Visions(another band I like and screw all y'all haters!) have ditched drummer Jason Shrout with Trevor Whorror - and that's not all that big a deal, but what's weird is that Whorror will be initiated into the annals of 18V history touring with Lostprophets. Boy, 18V just keep crawling closer and closer to the mainstream. Oh, and they're doing a little mini-tour with The Day, Big Collapse and Australian heavyweights Day of Contempt in tow. Weird bill, that. Here're the dates.
Aug. 4 - Emerson Theater, Indianapolis
Aug. 5 - Radio Down, Covington, Ky.
Aug. 6 - HYAMP, Huntington, W.V.
Aug. 7 - Harmony Grange Hall, Wilmington, De.
Aug. 8 - Champion, Lemoyne, Penn.
Aug. 11 - Club 342, Watertown, N.Y.
Aug. 12 - The Loft, Poughkeepsie
[aversion]
A band that'll be here in September opening for Underoath has jumped ship label-to-label: Senses Fail have signed with Vagrant Records, who will release the band's next album Let It Enfold You September 7th(ten days prior to the band's Ottawa appearance - nice timing). So much for SF being known as "Drive-Thru's one hardcore band".
The world is officially coming to an end: Blink-182's openers for their upcoming British tour are indie-pop maestros...Death Cab For Cutie? What? I didn't get the 'coming apocalypse' memo.
Kill Your Idols haven't put out a new record in three years - til later this year, when their new one(no title yet) hits stores through SideOneDummy Records. I saw them shortly after they released that last album, and they're loads of punk/hardcore fun.
Speaking of not putting out a record in three years, Jimmy Eat World will try to equal the unlikely multimillion-selling success of their last record when Futures comes out October 19th on Interscope Records. I saw them, too - and every song was exactly album-quality. Some improv might be nice next time, fellas. I remember I ambushed them with my tape recorder outside their tour bus at Barrymore's, after my girlfriend at the time was insisting that I'd never get an interview. Ha! Showed her. Kidding.
In Hey Those Dudes Was Just Here news, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion have left their label home of eleven years - Matador Records - to sign with Sanctuary Records. New album in September blah blah blah ad nauseum. I wish I'd been able to see JSBX when they were here last month. Booo.
Frig! The Suicide Machines are touring in Ontario and NOT OTTAWA!! Who let this travesty of all justice happen?? Check it out:
Sept. 2 - Call the Office, London, Ont.
Sept. 3 - TBA, Toronto
Sept. 4 - Que Rainbow, Montreal
Crap!!
Ah well. Life soldiers on.
Today is a Very Big Day for Jason Gehrels and his bride-to-be Angela; they're getting married in roughly one hour's time. Yours truly will be in attendance, wearing a Throwdown t-shirt, because he couldn't find anything else clean and his really nice clothes are elsewhere anyway. This should be interesting. Congrats, Jay and Ang!
It sucks if you're a CSI fan: two of the cast, George Eads(who plays Nick Stokes on the show) and Jorja Fox(who plays...who is it she plays...can't remember the character's name...doh) have been unceremoniously canned from the show due to a "salary scuffle" with the show's producers, CBS and Canadian company Alliance Atlantis. "Sources said that Eads showed up for work late Thursday morning, when the show had an early 6:15 a.m. call time, and was sent a termination letter soon afterward," it says here. For the full story, if you really care to read it, here it is.
Martha Stewart is going to prison for five months.
Let the jail-domesticity jokes begin now.
Anyway.
There are some, um, interesting shows coming up here in Ottawa, not the least of which is tonight, when myself and my boss will be ten feet from the stage watching Canadian legends Blue Rodeo(twenty years and still truckin'); I've waited a long, long time to see this band play, and it'll be blues heaven every minute.
As well, a brand-new announcement that we alluded to here the other day: September 17th Underoath will be back in Ottawa, this promoting their excellent new disc They're Only Chasing Safety; keep your eyes peeled to the retinas for an interview with the band coming soon - and to boot, the openers for that show(taking place at Maverick's on Rideau St.) are Senses Fail and The Bled. This will be a Very Large Rock Show.
Some more listings, pilfered directly from punkottawa:
07/16 - Viscera's Recital, A New Renaissance, The Transit, Forty Cent Fix, In Safe Hands @ Shawville RA (455 Hillcrest Ave, behind Pontiac High School, SHAWVILLE, QC) - AA/6:30pm/$5
07/16 - The Weakerthans and more @ Bluesfest Black Sheep Stage -
AA/19+/9pm/$25-30
07/17 - Keep Yourself Good Company, The Second Glance(featuring The Fully Down's former singer) @ Barrymores Music
Hall - 19+/8pm/$8/$10 - TM
07/21 - The Rocket Summer, Plain White Ts, Kevin Devine, The Fully Down, The Love Machine @ Club SAW - AA/6pm/$12 - last show put on by our boy Nick DC be there or die
07/22 - Quo Vadis, Unexpect, Tribunal @ babylon - AA/19+/4:30pm/$12 -RR, TM(METAL!!!!)
07/24 - Hartsfield(CD release), The Fully Down, Is Grace Enough, The Awkward Picture, Bright Night Star @ Manotick Arena (5572 Doctor Leach Dr, MANOTICK) - AA/6pm/$5
07/25 - Craig's Brother, Mute, NonSufficientFunds, The Less You Know @ Maverick's (221 Rideau St) - AA/19+/8pm/$10(as if Craig's Brother are still around, let alone playing Ottawa! Awesome.)
07/30 - Strike Anywhere, Engine Down, New Mexican Disaster Squad, Struck A Nerve(ex-Miles Between Us) @ babylon -AA/19+/5pm/$12 - RR, OS, CDX, TV(let's hear it for MBU branching out!)
Oh, and Modest Mouse are coming in August too, but since I'm not really into them, I'm just throwing that out there.
In unrelated concert news, there's a very large event going down at the Pepsi Centre in Denver August 8th: P.O.D. are playing their one and only scheduled appearance in the Mile High City, and some friends are tagging along - and by friends I mean Blindside, MxPx, Squad 5-0 and Further Seems Forever. I think Switchfoot are playing this event too. It's called the Hoi Polloi Festival, and our web guy Al's daughter Freya is working with the organizers. Talk about a late-'90s Cornerstone Festival reunion on a waaaay bigger stage. Man, I'd kill to be at this show. So if you're in or around Denver and somehow don't know about this, wake up.
There's some confirmation from various sources that new Further Seems Forever vocalist Jon Bunch doesn't quite cut it - or more simply, sucks. We're not a spread-the-gossip type of website here, but FSF are near and dear to my heart, and not having heard the new material yet, this is unnerving me. A message board denizen outta Montreal(onrock) had this to say about various Cornerstone Festival performances: "So the bands that were good were Beloved, Seventh Star, NIV[who played a surprise set - why can't I BE THERE for things like that?? - ed], P.O.D., Blindside, As I Lay Dying, Zao, Cool Hand LukeEmery was so amazing...bands that sucked the big one were Further Seems Forever - their new vocalist is out of tune with no stage presence, and they played the main stage, but never again. No one clapped after their first song and everyone around us was laughing or blocking their ears or leaving, it was so bad, and the other band that was just as bad was He Is Legend - oh my gosh I thought someone was going to shoot the vocalist. It was so bad it made me bleed out of my ears." That's one person's opinion, mind you, not ours. Considering sweetdisaster head honcho here has never once been to Cornerstone, all judgement on my part will have to wait for that glorious day whenst I do journey south for it. Thanks to Dave Leibold for the link to that particular message board.
Yo, check it out: an interview with everyone's favourite spazz-core band Fear Before the March of Flames - right on over here! Woohoo! They're from Denver, too - see how we connect all the ends around here? According to the interview, Eureka, California is one weird place. Funny interview.
Bonus time, kids: some new music from Stretch Arm Strong has appeared online: check out a song called 'Landslide' here. [absolutepunk]
A band with a decent pedigree including members from Saosin, This Day Forward and A Life Once Lost has some new material up at their website; behold, Circa Survive. Someone tell me if they're any good.
Gotee Records' new Hip Hope 2005 compilation will be in stores August 24th, including bomb tracks from John Reuben and Mars Ill(both of whom will rock Worshipfest here in Ottawa in a couple weeks), as well as Grits, Cross Movement and the mighty L.A. Symphony. It'll be a good listen. [virtualfrequency]
Essential listening today, July 16th, to no one's surprise, is the new album from Unearth, The Oncoming Storm. The storm is not oncoming - it is here, and you will all be swallowed by the volcanic riffage. Find and enjoy.
Essential listening for today, July 15th, is Copeland's Beneath Medicine Tree. Combining a touch of Further Seems Forever's softer moments with labelmates The Beautiful Mistake's guitar work and some killer vocals and harmonies, this is a Good Album. Also, their cover of Billy Joel's 'She's Always A Woman To Me' is pretty good. Not on this record, but good.
Speaking of Further Seems Forever, apparently there was much talk at Cornerstone Festival two weeks back that FSF's set was, um, not that good. Any confirmation/negation can be sent here. We welcome all love and flames.
And speaking of Cornerstone(we're all about the masterful segue here), the Rock For Life stage on the second day featured one wildly varied slew of acts, ranging from the west-coast hiphop of L.A. Symphony to the SoCal metalcore of As I Lay Dying, and everything in between. Dan Stephens has his little mini-account of the goings-on over at his 'zine. Enjoy the brevity. And apparently this band Aletheian are nothing short of mindblowing. Keep your eyes open.
There's a profusion of news from a certain SoCal label known as Strikefirst Records. We'll go through it, as we're wont to do around here, in point form:
- Portland, Oregon's Inked In Blood have signed a deal with the label; the band's self-released record, an EP called Awakening Vesuvius, will be re-released by Strikefirst in August
- Jesus Wept(named after the shortest verse in the entire Bible, doncha know) are finishing up their Sick City EP, due out July 27th
- Nodes of Ranvier(amazing band) are on tour with Germany's Caliban and Scars of Tomorrow(Victory Records); here be the dates:
July 30 - Aug. 15 w/ Scars Of Tomorrow, Caliban + Reflux
July 15 - Willmar, MN @ Sonshine Festival - HM Stage
July 29 - Iowa City, IA @ Gabe's Oasis
July 30 - Kansas City, MO @ The Spitfire
July 31 - Tulsa OK @ The Pinkeye
Aug. 1 - Amarillo TX @ The Refuge
Aug. 2 - Denver CO @ Rock Island
Aug. 3 - Salt Lake City UT @ The Basement
Aug. 4 - Boise ID @ The Venue
Aug. 5 - Spokane WA @ The Detour
Aug. 6 - Seattle WA @ Studio Seven
Aug. 7 - Portland OR @ The Solid State
Aug. 8 - Orangevale CA @ The Boardwalk
Aug. 9 - San Francisco CA @ TBA
Aug. 10 - Bakersfield CA @ Jerry's Pizza
Aug. 11 - Lancaster CA @ TBA
Aug. 12 - Hollywood CA @ Whisky A Go-Go
Aug. 13 - South Gate CA @ Allen Theatre
Aug. 14 - Las Vegas NV @ TBA
Aug. 15 - Anaheim, CA @ Chain Reaction
- One 21 is playing as one-third of a killer bill in Linthicum Heighs, Maryland; the other two featured acts are L.A. Symphony and Cool Hand Luke. I would destroy all in my path to be at that show, taking place July 30th at LBC in Linthicum Hts.
Speaking of destroying, torrential rain is moving across Canada, and this has just been handed to me: Ottawa is about to get wrecked. There's been footage the last 72 hours of Edmonton malls being partially ripped up by storms, and this afternoon Peterborough, Ontario declared a state of emergency. Be safe, people, if you're in the path.
Fifteen-year-old Bethany Dillon is the new teen sensation in the Christian music revue(yes, Christians have teen sensations too, believe me); I demoed her debut album last night and was pleasantly surprised at what I heard. Solid acoustic-based pop-rock, unlike Avril and her peers for the most part, but with enough rock to show she means business. Yes, she had help from producers and such, but she's still a talent who will only get better, we think.
Also demoed was the newest from ex-Caedmon's Call member Derek Webb, long one of my personal favourites; his record is a live effort called The House Show. Recorded live off the floor in someone's living room - literally - last fall in Alabama, THS features some old CC favourites as well as Webb's solo work, focused on the Church and what's become of it in recent years. Recommended.
This is really bizarre: The Tragically Hip brought out thirty thousand fans for last Saturday's Bluesfest show here in Ottawa, as did Bryan Adams night before last night - and yet my boss tells me last night that Toronto cancelled their Bluesfest due to lack of ticket sales. How does a city of over four million cancel a major festival while Ottawa packs it out? Innneresting. Tomorrow night yours truly is finally going to see Blue Rodeo live, also at the Bluesfest. It's been a long time coming!
Some pro basketball news for you - because clearly that's what you come for: Shaq O'Neal is now a member of the Miami Heat, and back in the Eastern conference where he made his name with Orlando a decade ago. Since there are no big men in the East to compare even remotely with this guy, Shaq will likely have one amazing year. All this to say he's still a prima donna. "I deserve more respect." Sure, guy. Oh, and Canadian lad Steve Nash has bailed on the Dallas Mavericks, signing in Phoenix for - steady now - five years, sixty-five million bucks. Disgusting.
The new issue of Relevant magazine appeared in the mailbox last Friday, and true to form, it's making me think, making me laugh, and informing me. Very highly recommended for twentysomethings both Christian and not. Check out the website for subscription info and fun stuff like that.
It's rained today. Twice. And yet still the humidity of death remains. The stench of unfulfilled precipitation potential(or UPP as we meterologists call it) is simply overwhelming, and I for one am sick of it. Ergo, who will join me in my bid to have Ottawa and environs enclosed in a giant climate-controlled bubble? It will cost significantly less than some of the proposed plans on the part of the city fathers(we see you, $600 million light-rail project!).
Anyway.
This Just In: the newest from Terror, called One With The Underdogs, is most certainly just that. And by "most certainly just that" we mean "so very very stereotypical of the genre and yet fun to listen to at the same time." There's your two-second review. It does have 'Out Of My Face', which has a very killer riff.
I've heard not-so-pleasant things about this Victory Records band Hawthorne Heights, but they've had the highest-selling first week in the label's history. Anyone know if they're even good? I've never heard them.
Out.
In Sucks To Be This Guy news: this dude in England accidentally shot himself in the groin with a sawed-off shotgun, right - he was a little intoxicated, clearly - and then he got charges laid concerning why he had the gun in the first place. Boy, that's gotta sting.
Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante is an ambitious dude; he's aiming to release an album a month this year or something like that, and he's got some help: August's will be under the name Ataxia, featuring Fugazi bassist Joe Lally and Bicycle Thief drummer Josh Klinghoffer. The record comes out August 10th through The Record Collection. [punknews]
Some news from Montreal's Union Label Group: they've slapped up a new website, for starters, and there's a new release coming from Francophone band Eric Panic; this act rose from the towering legacy of Penelope(okay, I'm being a little sarcastic), whose last album featured contributions from dudes in Dag Nasty and Bad Religion. So they have cred.
Since Autopilot Off drummer Phil Robinson was married last week, the band are touring Japan RIGHT NOW AS YOU READ THIS HOW 'BOUT THAT with Snapcase's Ben Lythberg filling in. They're actually opening for the Offspring on that tour...and I don't know how much I like that...anyway, they've got some shows coming up with Squad Five-0 and other stuff; check it all out over here.
The metal shall be had: At The Mercy of Inspiration and Ken Mode are touring cross-Canada in August; note the Ottawa stop:
AUGUST 4TH - MONTREAL, QC
AUGUST 5TH - OTTAWA, ON
AUGUST 6TH - TORONTO, ON
AUGUST 7TH - SUDBURY, ON
AUGUST 8TH - SAULT STE. MARIE, ON
AUGUST 10TH - THUNDER BAY, ON
AUGUST 11TH - KENORA, ON
AUGUST 13TH - WINNIPEG, MB
AUGUST 14TH - BRANDON, MB
AUGUST 15TH - REGINA, SK
AUGUST 17TH - MEDICINE HAT, AB
AUGUST 18TH - CALGARY, AB
AUGUST 19TH - KELOWNA, BC
AUGUST 20TH - VANCOUVER, BC
AUGUST 21ST - WHISTLER, BC
AUGUST 23RD - KAMLOOPS, BC
AUGUST 25TH - EDMONTON, AB
AUGUST 27TH - SASKATOON, SK
AUGUST 28TH - WINNIPEG, MB
AUGUST 29TH - THUNDER BAY, ON
Behold, the metallic onslaught. [OGSANCE]
Further Sems Forever have announced a headlining tour in support of their upcoming third record Hide Nothing. Openers will be Brandtson and The Kicks(or The Kick if my suspicion proves right), and here be the itinerary. Clearly Ottawa gets the shaft.
08.08.04 - Denver,CO Hoi Polloi Festival at Pepsi Center
08.21.04 - Lewisburg,PA Purple Door Festival
08.22.04 - Philadelphia,PA Theatre of the Living Arts
08.24.04 - Washington,DC Nightclub 9:30
08.25.04 - Carrboro,NC Cat's Cradle
08.26.04 - Columbia,SC Headliner's
08.27.04 - Jacksonville,FL Jack Rabbits
08.28.04 - St. Petersburg,FL State Theatre
08.29.04 - Ft. Lauderdale,FL The Factory
08.31.04 - Atlanta,GA Cotton Club
09.02.04 - Nashville,TN Rocketown
09.03.04 - Houston,TX The Meridian
09.04.04 - Austin,TX Emo's
09.05.04 - Dallas,TX The Door
09.10.04 - Los Angeles,CA Roxy Theatre
09.11.04 - Anaheim,CA Chain Reaction
09.12.04 - Anaheim,CA Chain Reaction
09.13.04 - San Francisco,CA The Pound
09.14.04 - Chico,CA Bell Memorial Auditorium
09.16.04 - Seattle,WA Graceland
09.17.04 - Vancouver,BC Croation Cultural Centre
09.18.04 - Spokane,WA The Detour
09.20.04 - Salt Lake City,UT Bricks
09.21.04 - Denver,CO Bluebird Theater
09.22.04 - Omaha,NE Sokol Underground
09.23.04 - St. Louis,MO Creepy Crawl
09.24.04 - Chicago,IL The Bottom Lounge
09.25.04 - Grand Rapids,MI The Intersection
09.26.04 - Detroit,MI The Shelter
09.27.04 - Cleveland Heights,OH Grog Shop
09.29.04 - South Amboy,NJ Club Krome
09.30.04 - Brooklyn,NY North Six
10.01.04 - New York,NY Knitting Factory
10.02.04 - Boston,MA Axis
10.03.04 - New Haven,CT Toad's Place
Remember Number One Fan? Opened for The Juliana Theory and Anberlin a few months back? They've signed with a new label, Pat's Record Company, owned by Goo Goo Dolls/Green Day manager Pat Magnarella. Innnneresting.
Montreal's Blessed By A Broken Heart have also signed a record deal, with Virginia's Blood & Ink Records; the debut album will be out in September. Good band!
Followup on that last bit: rumour has it Minnesota's Foreknown are also gonna be hitching up with Blood & Ink soon. We'll see.
If you were into Grade several years ago, check out The Black Maria, a band that's overcome torment and strife and poetic injustice to REBEL against the forces of EVIL!!!!
....shut up. It's raining out.
sweetdisaster has been asked to help promote a rather high-profile show happening in the next few months - we'd of course die rather than spill the beans, but it will be large, and the rock ruckus shall be had. So keep your eyes and ears peeled.
The new album from Unearth, The Oncoming Storm, is, in a word, enormous. Nothing really spectacularly different from their previous work, but let's face - we know what we want from Unearth, and Boston's finest deliver the goods in a very big way here. Highly recommended.
In some I Just Saw This Record In The Store news, the new Hawk Nelson record Letters to the President dropped today, and coincidentally(just kidding, we don't believe in such things), their track 'Like A Racecar' will be heard tonight(July 13th) on Summerland, this show on the WB, which I could care less about. If you miss it tonight and you're this diehard fan of either band or show, it'll be repeated on the 19th. The band are also featur*ed on some game soundtrack alongside people like Fefe Dobson(wierd) and The Roots(amazing!!). [cmcentral]
Grits(those Worshipfest bailers) had a relatively big debut with their new record(not that good to my ears); they sold over five thousand copies and landed on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. Impressive, but still, the record isn't that great. [sphereofhiphop]
In other hiphop news, the new solo effort from Flynn, In Like Flynn(what a title), arrived at sweetdisaster HQ today. Expect a review in the coming weeks.
I was in HMV last week with someone and saw Thousand Foot Krutch's latest in between Taking Back Sunday and Thursday. Made me smile inside. Like the sap I am.
Some sad/prayers-needed news: former Barium vocalist Nick Noble, nineteen, was killed in a car wreck Monday night in Maine, along with a female companion. Excessive speed was blamed. R.I.P. [lambgoat]
Something interesting has popped up on the World Wide Web: new music from Helmet's upcoming record, Size Matters, which comes out September 14th. Check out the ruckus here. [theprp]
Nothingface, a long-running hardcore/nu-metal band that I mistakenly trashed upon their breakup earlier this year(forgive me), has given birth to a new project with the uber-ridiculously-cool name Kingdom of Snakes. They'll have cowbell on their record, betta reckanize. Website with more info is over here.
There are two Canadian dates to note on the Internal Storm tour featuring headliners Blindside with openers mewithoutYou and The Kick:
September 10th Calgary, AB - MacEwan Hall
September 13th Vancouver, BC - Croation Hall
Notice the clearly-not-going factor for us here at sweetdisaster. Boooooooo.
Essential listening for July 13th(happy birthday, Kelly!!) is On Broken Wings, Some Of Us May Never See The World(Eulogy Records). Came out a year or two ago and melds melody with brutality in a really well-done way. Approved. Some of the death vocals are completely otherworldly, like the guy did the vocal takes standing in the booth on a stool slowly slipping off. Sickness.
Aight. Get lost. More tomorrow. Get out and enjoy summer.
This JUST In: Atreyu have apparently bailed on tomorrow night's scheduled appearance here in Ottawa, opening for Lamb of God, citing travel hassles(the show is an off-date for the Ozzfest trek). The other openers, Every Time I Die and Unearth, as far as we know, are still on the bill. Boy, Ryan will be peeved.
If you live in Australia(and some of our fuzzy little readers do, I'm told), Most Precious Blood are about to descend upon thy shores: word is that the band will be touring through Oz October 27th through November 7th. My cat's birthday is November 7th! Seriously! [noisetheory]
The greatest track listing ever: this from the upcoming album from Fear Before the March of Flames:
01. Hey Kid. I'm A Computer. Stop All The Downloading.
02. Should Have Stayed In The Shallows
03. Consequences David, You'll Meet Your Fate In The Styx
04. Whisky Is Alright In Its Place, But Its Place Is In Hell
05. The Story Of The Curious Oysters
06. Absolutely Fabulous And Me
07. The Long Road To The Middle
08. The State Of Texas Vs Fear Before
09. Law Of Averages
10. A Tyrant Meets His Maker
11. The God Awful Truth
I particularly enjoy the irony of Number One, which, by the way, can be downloaded over here.
We won't get it here, but it's interesting if you wanna order it or something: The Bled and Alexisonfire are doing a split seven-inch August 9th through Sore Point Records(never heard of them). It'll be purple(woohoo!) and will be UK-only at 750 copies pressed. The songs will be 'Ruth Buzzi Better Watch Her Back' by the former and 'Counterparts and Number Them' by AoF.
The new record from Zao, entitled The Funeral of God, drops tomorrow, and in quaking anticipation of the event, you can hear the single 'Truly, Truly This Is The End' by clicking on this. It'll be huge, I bet. And you can also read this review of the new album thanks to bandoppler. And keep your eye out for sweetdisaster's interview with vocalist Dan Weyandt sometime in future.
Essential listening for today, July 12th(happy birthday, Davee!!) is pure rap: anything from Sev Statik, including full-lengths, demos, compilations and guest appearances, is worth hearing. What a dude. Find him.
Ken Jennings is a complete nobody - until now. My man has won twenty-nine straight games of Jeopardy as of last night, closing in on a million dollars in winnings. Who is this clown?? I bet he's some guy who for years sat in his TV going "I could do that" - and now he IS. Scary. [Relevant]
Just thought I'd pass along the fact that in all their various modes of existence, until their breakup late last year, Embodyment were so good.
Holy crap: a mother of a tour featuring Zao, Every Time I Die, Misery Signals and Dillinger Escape Plan is being put together. No word on dates, but I hope and pray a thousandfold that it comes to Ottawa. Anyone feel like laying odds? hxc]
YES! Ringleader Patrick Andrew has confirmed that a new album from PFR is in the works! Wheeee!!! A statement in part: "We signed a contract to record eight re-juiced tunes and two new ones. There it is. Recording shall commence August 23rd. Here's the crazy thing. We have literally ONE WEEK to record. This is absolutely nuts." I hope 'eight re-juiced tunes and two new ones' doesn't denote a 'label contract fulfiller'-type album.
Chevelle's new album has a name and a date now: This Type of Thinking Could Do Us In will be out September 21st, with the first single, 'Ritalin'(oh how ironic) going to radio in late August. Woohoo!
The Lost Dogs performed for almost two hours last night down in the Glebe here in Ottawa, and for those who're at all into the Christian rock scene, it was like a living history lesson watching these grizzled dudes play songs that have paved the way for every Christian band to follow. Well done. And thanks to Dave Leibold at CKCU FM 93.1 for bringing them to town.
Mourning September's Floodgate Records debut A Man Can Change His Stars drops August 10th; produced by James Wisner(who, of note, produced the new Underoath, which is pretty good), it promises to be a pretty big record. Keep an eye out for it. Two tracks feature guest vocals from Jon Bunch(Further Seems Forever).
Essential listening for July 10th is Funeral For A Friend's two records to date: the Seven Ways to Scream Your Name EP and this year's debut full-length Casually Dressed and Deep In Conversation. Solid new-school screamo/pop. I dig.
The upcoming U2 album has a name - tentatively: Vertigo. rockrebel reports that several websites containing 'U2' and 'Vertigo' have been registered by a Dublin, Ireland-based web company - owned in part by U2 bassist Adam Clayton's brother. Pretty ironclad, I'd say. The record comes out in November, and is produced by Chris Thomas and Steve Lillywhite(longtime Dave Matthews Band cohort).
Speaking of DMB, one of the dudes from Switchfoot's road crew last night was Dave Matthews' live sound tech for years. What up to RYAN! What a dude. Oh, and this has just been handed to me: over in Europe the soundtrack to Spider-Man 2 features a Switchfoot song. Apparently there are eleven different official soundtracks to this movie. Holy global merchandising scheme. I kinda feel bad because on this continent a song from uber-terrible band Train is one of the lead singles from said soundtrack. We're getting shafted.
Former Five Iron Frenzy ringleader and vocalist Reese Roper has lent his vocal talents to up-and-coming band Showbread's new record. No details to speak of, but Roper flew out to California or someplace to record with the band - and I've heard lots about this band over the last six months or so. Anyone know if they're worthy of the hype?
Fear Before the March of Flames have wrapped up their followup to last year's Odd How People Shake record; the new slab is called Art Damage, and it'll come out September 7th on Equal Vision Records. Killer band. [aversion]
The only band I've ever seen that got shut down by police(maybe I need to get out more or something), The Mad Caddies will make their live-album debut later this year as part of Fat Wreck's Live In A Dive series - and get this: the show in question was St. Patrick's Day in Toronto. Oooooh, Caaaanadaaaaaa!!! The record comes out on September 7th(that date again).
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back up the trolley. What is this I hear about No Innocent Victim re-forming? NIV? What? The very first hardcore band I ever heard? I'm very very very very very very excited now. Here's hoping that they can fulfill my decade-long dream of playing in my backyard! [hardcorechristian]
Project 86 and Pillar are heading out on the Where Do We Go From Here tour, sponsored by...Best Buy. Uh oh.
punkhardcore outta Toronto got screwed by some advertisers reneging on payment, so now they're in the hole three grand. They need some help. Hit up the site to offer some. Word.
Boysnightout drummer Ben(no last name needed!) has decided that he'd rather teach and further his education than be a drummer in a band, so to that effect - he's leaving. So long. His replacement will be former Fordirelifesake(I've heard that name EVERYWHERE!) skinsman Brian Southhall. My dad's a teacher, so I respect Ben's career choice.
That is it for today's news. Here's hoping I get some more interviews up soon. Like, oh, I don't know, Anberlin, Comeback Kid and Zao. You'd think that'd be impetus enough, really. Oi.
So let's talk about last night, shall we?
Switchfoot, by the time they got onstage, hadn't slept in like a day and a half, in part due to a bomb scare that shut down Ottawa Airport yesterday morning for hours. sd got some background info from a dude we met: some idiot packed sensitive geological equipment in his regular baggage, items that by law have to reported in advance and stored in a special section of the airplane. They weren't and they weren't. So they looked on X-ray like detonation devices, so the entire place was shut down.
After all this, the band still played a killer set. Two new songs woven in among the hits(nothing going as far back as The Legend of Chin, ie maybe 'Chem 6a', which a lot of the crowd hoped for, but some stuff off of New Way To Be Human. And to top it off, they're super nice dudes. sweetdisaster did not get an interview, which is unfortunate, beyond a minute and a half or so that I managed to squeeze out before vocalist Jon Foreman was whisked away by handlers. Bummer! Thanks to all who came out - like six hundred of y'all. That's very impressive.
And now, some news.
Stavesacre have revamped their website, and to boot, there you'll find four new songs; no word on when a new record will be released to the clamouring hordes. A new DVD is coming as well.
Local band The Transit(great band, great guys) had the chance to open up for Pennywise recently - yeah, I think that's weird too, but you takes what you can gets. Anyway, you can check out some pictures of all the fun times over here. There's also pictures of recent shows featuring The Fully Down(Warped Tour vets-to-be!!) and Buried Inside. Word. And get this: if you look at the first picture of Rosesdead(who opened for Buried Inside you'll see a rear end that belongs to yours truly! I'm famous!
...I was fixing a drum kit that'd fallen apart as soon as the set started. Don't get uptight.
In I Can't Believe I Missed This Band Again news, today's essential listening(July 8th, kids) is actually one song: 'Savannah', by Zao, off of 1999's Te Ex Liberate En Inferis record. What a riff.
Word up, kidlets. Checked the stats just now; our visits per day have upped sharply, thanks in no small part I think to the Marathon interview up top there. Thanks for reading.
New Brunswick band Three Season Ant are on the rise, and they're clawing for a chance to play Rock the Island alongside the likes of Train(horrible band, but whatever) and Fountains of Wayne(amazing band!); even if you live nowhere near the Canadian Maritimes, you need to vote this band into an exalted position amidst that lineup. Hit up their website for all the info. Word up Bethany Bible College!
I have never once watched Canadian Idol. I think it's crap television that proves conclusively that if America has one, Canada simply must have one too. It sucks. I have no time for such things.
HOWEVER.
A friend of mine from Ottawa's south end, Rebecca Abbott(locals might remember her fronting Factor Eight a couple years ago) is on tonight, July 7th, touted as 'Ottawa's last hope'. I won't be watching live(Switchfoot tonight), but someone should tape it for me. Hint hint, Ryan. Prime time, CTV. Watch. She's good. Seriously.
Maybe their heads aren't SO far in the sand: the Recording Industry Association of America(RIAA) is expanding its yearly awards to include the digital realm; download awards will be given commencing next month based on label-licensed sales of songs at places like Napster and iTunes. Never been to either one, personally. [virtualfrequency]
In Tours That Aren't Coming Here news, Terror, Sick Of It All, Champion and Time In Malta are heading out on a little trek:7/24 Huntington WV @ HYAMP
7/25 Indianapolis IN @ Emerson Theater
7/27 Lincoln NE @ Knickerbockers
7/28 Denver CO @ Bluebird Theatre
7/30 Salt Lake City UT @ Bricks
7/31 Boise ID @ The Big Easy
8/2 Portland OR @ Meow Meow
8/4 San Francisco CA @ Slim's
8/5 San Luis Obispo CA @ SLO Brewing
8/6 Pomona CA @ Glasshouse
8/12 Kansas City MO @ El Torreon
8/13 Minneapolis MN @ Quest Club
8/14 Chicago IL @ House of Blues
8/16 Pittsburgh PA @ The World
[ChamberSpinsThree]
Hand of Hope Records, owned jointly by dudes from Evergreen Terrace and the guy from Eulogy Records, has signed another band: Donnybrook. Never heard them before, but their name is awesome.
Joey's Loss have a new album out called Unwelcome Travelers and Other Brave Men, and before you throw down to buy it online somewhere, check this out to make sure you dig it. THEN go buy it and support indie music. Word.
Squad Five-0's new record Late News Breaking(a reference to a Joe Strummer song, apparently) is now in stores on Capitol Records; this band has come one heck of a long way from total indie obscurity in Savannah, Georgia to the big leagues. decapolis weighs in on the record over here. An excerpt: "Late News Breaking is essentially the culmination of Squad Five-O's musical career, combining the reggae of yesteryear with the rock and roll of recent times." I will own it.
Essential listening for July 7th is a band that's former labelmates of Squad: Dogwood's 2003 album Seismic. This band, for a decade now, has represented true joy in the face of whatever life hands them, and I will forever swear allegiance to their mix of faith, punk and God-given talent. Purely amazing. If you want more info on one of my favourite bands ever, period, check out their website.
See you downtown tonight. Seven pm for Switchfoot, openers are Toronto band Turn Off The Stars. Peace.
All hands on deck: Status Recordings is in a bit of a financial jam. Excerpted from a statement: "Hi friends. Status Recordings are currently in a jam. We just released our twentieth release and are currently putting the label on hold until we get out of this ditch. The jam we are in is one that most small indie labels either often find themselves in - a big debt. All we really want to do with Status is stay afloat and keep releasing our usual two to three new records a year. So from now until September 1st we will be having a summertime sale, also known as a 'Please help us get out of debt...summer time sale." Our prices are very cheap in general(all orders in the United States are postage paid) - but for the months of July and August they will be extremely cheap. The list is below as well as in the "store" and "releases" section of this site. We're not asking this to be greedy, we're asking this to help save a business. The survival of Status could be directly tied to the ability to get over this pitfall. If every person that reads this buys just one release from this site the label could be saved.
Sincerely, Seth Brown / Status Recordings."
Here's the link to Status' website; if like bands like Curl Up And Die, Midvale and the like, help their label. [pastepunk dot commage]
In some better news, it was reported to moi last night that Ottawa's own The Fully Down are playing some dates on this year's Warped Tour. How awesome is that? These guys have worked their tails off for the last five years to get to this point, and I think it's rad. The band's demo was picked out of presumably a ton of entries in a contest run by Alternative Press magazine, and as soon as dates and such are known, you'll be told. Congrats, boys. The sky's the limit.
I must hear this new Strikefirst Records band Hit The Deck. How amazing a name is that?? Just a random thought.
Essential listening for July 6th(that would be today, doncha know) is Unearth's debut album, 2001's The Stings of Conscience, featuring the end-of-set crowd-destroyer 'One Step Away'. No matter how good their new record is(The Oncoming Storm, I think it's called), and it's very good, Conscience will forever be a force to be reckoned with - perhaps 'wreck-oned' with would be a better term.
....wreckoned with?
.......anyone?
Never mind. You are all humourless nincompoops.
More news.
The big Switchfoot show tomorrow promises to be a ruckus of a good time; a slew of my friends and associates will be in attendance, and if that's not enough of a reason for you to go, maybe the words 'rock and roll attack' and 'meaningful music in an era of empty, stale radio content' will spur you on. Seven pm tomorrow night, Capital Music Hall downtown. Tickets are $21 even at Record Runner(212 Rideau St.), or you can pay more at the door. Take your pick.
The Scene: keeping your coast/city/scene covered, one piece at a time. Hit it up.
Have we mentioned how heavenly-riff-packed this Unearth record is? I mean, geez.
Worshipfest begins one month from today, August 6th. It promises to be a good time all three days; apparently Grits' cancellation opened the door for this kid Titus, who from what we've heard is from the Guelph, Ontario area and sounds a bit like DMX. The Christian hiphop teens will eat it up. Ruckus sets from John Reuben, Mars Ill and Ottawa's own Midday Blackout are gonna keep the weekend going strong. Headliners aren't much to speak of, but that's simply a matter of taste. Info and ticket prices can be found at the link.
Misery Signals were just in town at the end of June with A Perfect Murder; I haven't heard any feedback, but then again, I don't spend hours of my days scouring punkottawa(not that there's anything wrong with that Jerry Seinfeld). Anyway, you can read a high-praise review of the band's latest, Of Malice And The Magnum Heart, right over here. And when you're through tearing through that, check out more Misery in the form of an interview. They're a band featuring some Canadian content too; can't beat it.
Speaking of interviews, we have a bunch of new ones up, so if you're too lazy to investigate the interviews section up top there, allow us to display for you pieces with Demon Hunter guitarist Don Clark, Ottawa Senators centre and all-around good guy Mike Fisher(some sports content never hurt a 'zine), rapper Sev Statik, straight out the 518 in Albany, and of course that giant Marathon feature you no doubt saw. There's also a wad of new record reviews in the Reviews section. Tell your friends.
Oh, and speaking of the Senators, the press conference this morning made it official: Dominik Hasek, one of the best goalies ever to play the game, he of the two MVPs and six(six!!) Vezina trophies as the NHL's best goaltender, is now the Senators' Number One. Easily the biggest free-agent signing in the team's twelve-year history. Here's hoping the Dominator stays healthy at his ripe old age of thirty-nine.
Thursday vocalist Geoff Rickly was apparently married on the Fourth of July after the Warped stop in Las Vegas. I had the pleasure of working indirectly with this guy(edited an interview one of my staffers did) when I was doing another 'zine years ago, and he's a class act. Congratulations.
Beloved and Underoath's latest albums both got top marks from AP, and I've decided that come end of today I will own the latter. You've all been warned: if it's half as good as I keep hearing, the raving begins pronto.
Some movie news: that moronic Spider-Man 2 movie hauled in a hundred and eighty million bucks over the weekend, blowing away the previous mark set by The Matrix: Reloaded last year($146M). I miss movies that make me THINK!!!!
That's 'bout it for today.
This Just In: Strike Anywhere, as rumoured, are here in Ottawa July 30th with openers Engine Down(seen previously opening for Thursday back in April). Tickets are on sale now at your usual place for such things; show's at Babylon. Good times.
In related news, Strike's Change Is A Sound album is essential listening for today, July 5th. To this day it's the most passionate punk record I've ever heard. By the way, happy belated Fourth of July to our American readers.
And speaking of American readers/supporters, there's a girl in Illinois, name of Ally, and she gets, right here and now, a massive love letter from us here at sweetdisaster for running her tail off at Cornerstone Festival over the weekend, establishing contacts, spreading the word and especially giving our contact information to Squad 5-0 vocalist John Fortson. Is this girl unbelievable or what? Props to high heaven. Special thanks as well to Cory in Pennsylvania for rocking a homemade sweetdisaster dot com T-shirt for the proceedings out in Bushnell, IL. It's people like this that are the reason we exist here. Thank you.
Oh, a couple more shows to inform you of if you live here in good ol' Cap City North: Nick at Asymmetric is doing his last-ever show featuring The Rocket Summer with openers Plain White Ts and The Fully Down; that's July 21st at Club SAW downtown. As well, New York's Marathon(go read that huge feature interview up above there) are gonna be here August 12th with The Break and The Hand(what?), also at SAW. I'll be at that one fo' sheezy.
If you're a huge TV geekoid, some bands on the idiot box this week include Yellowcard, Lit, 311, New Found Glory and more. We're not gonna tell you where. Do something for yourself for a change. [punknews]
I've yet to hear the guy, but Redcloud is making some waves in the underground hiphop community, and 1340mag.com caught up with him and some of his pals; read the interview over here. Good piece, particularly because Pigeon John gets some love.
Whoa! Email from my uncle Will near Toronto! He saw Bono the other day!! Awesome. That merits a quick mention.
Anyway.
After a prolonged, agonizing wait, OGS is back up and running: new layout, new content, and looks like some new people involved too. I go waaaay the frig back with these kids, and they gots the goods, so check that out. Oh, and they have some backup on the recent news of The Juliana Theory signing with Rykodisc; apparently the band has formed their own label called Paper Fist which will receive worldwide distribution through Rykodisc. So there!
You like toys? You like Less Than Jake? Check this here out: Vinnie LTJ has started a toy company called Monkey Vs. Robot. I could care less about toys or LTJ, personally, but c'mon, monkeys versus robots? DAAAANG. Here's the website. [pastepunk]
I was a big fan of Stone Temple Pilots in their '90s heyday, and thusly it pleases me to see links to five unreleased songs by STP from the Shangri-La-Dee-Da and No. 4 era. Check this out for the linkage. Some of the riffs on No. 4 were immense. Just a reflection.
Yes! Oh yes, yes, YES!! New music from Rise Against; song's called State Of The Union! Wheeeeee!!!
Check it out: some Braille hippityhoppity action - featuring Rob Swift of the almight X-ecutioners; song's called Hiphop Music.
We're slowly getting the kinks involved with bringing a new face aboard ironed out; peep the link to your top right, because if you need a webmaster, we got yours right here. Word.
In more hiphop news, the newest from Flynn(L.A. Symphony), entitled In Like Flynn(har har) is charting at #37 on the CMJ charts. How 'bout that? [sphereofhiphop]
For the gamers amongst us, the new John Madden NFL 2005's soundtrack has been released, featuring new material from Green Day as well as a song from Alter Bridge, the band that's risen from the ashes of Creed's oh-so-unfortunate demise. What a pity, that Creed thing. No it's not. Other notables on the soundtrack include tracks from New Found Glory, Black Eyed Peas mastermind Will.I.Am, Chevelle, Faith No More and tons of others. [buzzgrinder]
Last week my boy Ryan and I were trying to figure out what this big news involving The Juliana Theory was, and we couldn't make their website work, right, but now we know: the band has signed with indie label Rykodisc. Early 2005 release for the next album. Hope it's as good as all their other stuff.
One of Ottawa's best bands, Keep Yourself Good Company, have a new CD coming out, and to celebrate the event they're taking over Barrymore's(323 Bank St. downtown) for a release party July 17th. Opening will be The Second Glance, featuring former Fully Down frontman Joe Brownrigg(he's a cop now!). It'll be a good show, c'mon out and support.
For those who're pissed about Darkest Hour bailing on Ottawa last month(though it did give Buried Inside a longer headlining set, which is a nice tradeoff I says), you can catch them down in Kitchener, Ontario on August 27th - with DIMMU BORGIR! Dimmu Borgir in KITCHENER! That's hysterical. The venue is Club Element. [theprp]
That's it for now. Enjoy what's left of the weekend, kids. Peace.
It's weird how things are engineered sometimes when you place your faith in a God a lot of people don't think exists, but I have and He does, and a guy named Al reppin' Littleton, Colorado joined on the ol' sd.com rock train recently as a direct result, and now his talents have been cashed in: check out the interviews and reviews sections, and the feature piece on upstate New York rock and roll attack Marathon for a lot of new content, including articles on Sev Statik, Demon Hunter guitarist Don Clark(look for that in the interview labeled 'Asterik'; we'll fix that), and a wack of CD reviews, some out of date kinda, but whatever.
Finally. Thanks to Al for helping me out and continuing to help me out(what a dude that Al is, kids, seriously), and to you for dropping by. Hope you enjoy. As always, any comments/inquiries can be shot over here.
This Just In: ever heard of Hum? I had never heard this band despite hearing the name here and there in interviews and surfing the web, but I have their 1997 album Downward Is Heavenward bumping and I like it a lot. So that's today's Essential Listening, July 2nd edition.
Hope everyone here in Ottawa had a good Canada Day yesterday and didn't get drowned off the face of the earth like rats during that little monsoon mid-afternoon.
I saw in the latest issue of HM that Newsboys mastermind Peter Furler is a judge in this big worldwide(I think it's worldwide) songwriting competition; the website if you're interested in penning mighty tunes is over here, but the funny part is who else is judging this: P. Diddy? Darryl McDaniels(Run DMC)? Staind bald dude Aaron Lewis? Wind-Up Records prez Alan Meltzer? Scott Kirkland from The Crystal Method? This is awesome!! Where do I sign up? Oh yeah, the link. Right.
There's a Tonex CD available for borrowing at my local library; this guy is big in the Christian urban-music scene, and apparently making mainstream inroads too. But why am I talking about this? I've never even heard this guy before. I'm talking about it because the record was produced back in 2000 by Noah Bernardo, whose son Noah Bernardo, Jr. is better known as P.O.D. drummer Wuv. Word. Let's hear it for obscure connections.
Blast! Another amazing tour that's skipping Ottawa: Blindside, mewithoutYou and The Kick are heading out on the Internal Storm tour, and the only Canadian date listed is the last one, in Edmonton. Check it out if you're anywhere near any of these shows; Blindside and mwY are renowned for their live performances.
8/08 Denver, CO Pepsi Center
8/10 Lawrence, KS Granada Theatre
8/11 St. Louis, MO The Creepy Crawl
8/12 Chicago, IL The Bottom Lounge
8/13 Flint, MI The Machine Shop
8/14 Cleveland, OH Odeon
8/16 New York, NY CBGB's
8/17 Philadelphia, PA Theatre of Living Arts
8/18 Boston, MA Axis
8/19 Albany, NY Trinity Church
8/20 Lewisberry, PA Ski Roundtop
8/21 Greensboro, NC Aces Basement
8/22 Orlando, FL The Social
8/24 Tallahassee, FL Floyd's Music Store
8/25 Atlanta, GA Cotton Club
8/28 Tulsa, OK ORU Mabee Center
9/01 Milwaukee, WI The Eagles Bar
9/02 Minneapolis, MN Ascot Room
9/05 Sioux Falls, SD WH Lyons Fairgrounds
9/11 Edmonton, AB Heritage Amphitheatre
[hxc]
Sandwiched in among a TON of tour dates both on this continent and overseas, Horse the Band will be here in Ottawa August 4th at Club SAW. We reported this months ago, but it's nice to know it's still on. As well, the band has welcomed aboard their Good Ship Insanity new drummer Eli Green. Check this out for the entire tour schedule. There's a lot of touring there. Wow.
Hawk Nelson's debut album Letters to the President comes out July 13th on Tooth & Nail Records; label president Brandon Ebel actually flew up here to Ontario to catch HN's live show: "We believe in Hawk Nelson in a big way here, I am excited for the future of this band. We have seen great success with radio with their single already at number eleven, and we have created a great plan together with touring along with a special three video package that will go to retail and video outlets prior to the release of the record." That's all label hype, yes, and their influences are listed as the likes of Simple Plan and Good Charlotte, but I saw these dudes a year ago in a high-school cafeteria, and national exposure couldn't happen to nicer dudes. Plus their vocalist has the same name(Jason Dunn) as the Facedown Records guy! Check this here out for more.
I'm pretty excited. Know why? Because since I don't have a clue what I'm doing regarding web design or the actual running of a 'zine - I just do content and make smart remarks, really - I had to find a dude to help, right, and I did, and now a whole bunch of fun stuff is in his hot little hands as you read these very words, and hopefully they'll be up soon. So there you go.
If you had your heart set on seeing Grits perform at Worshipfest in August, too bad: they cancelled. They probably wouldn't have played any of their older - better - material anyway.
Speaking of such things, the Lollapalooza tour that was just nixed earlier this week was gonna feature DJ Danger Mouse, who's just sick. Now I'm disappointed, and I wasn't even going.
hxc has received what's probably it's tenth facelift - at least - since I first started haunting its corridors, and it looks very functional and schweet. Also it has confirmation of what I already knew: the Beloved/Between the Buried and Me tour isn't coming to Ottawa. Crap. Oh, and too bad none of the links work.
This is nuts: Dead Poetic and turn-of-the-millennium rap-metal beasties Papa Roach are touring together:
7/12 New York City, NY Bowery Ballroom
7/13 Towson, MD Recher Theatre
7/14 Winston-Salem, NC Ziggy's
7/16 St. Petersburg, FL Jannus Landing
7/17 Orlando, FL The Social
7/18 Atlanta, GA Cotton Club
7/20 Houston, TX Engine Room
7/21 Dallas, TX Tree's
7/23 Oklahoma City, OK Bricktown
7/24 Lincoln, NV Knickerbockers
7/26 Denver, CO Bluebird
7/27 Salt Lake City, UT In The Venue
7/29 Portland, OR Aladdin Theatre
7/30 Seattle, WA Graceland
7/31 Chico, CA Senator Theatre
8/01 Sacramento, CA TBA
8/03 San Francisco, CA Slim's
8/04 Los Angeles, CA The Roxy
8/06 Santa Cruz, CA The Catalyst
8/07 Fresno, CA Madera Fairgrounds
Instruction opens all the above showage.
Happy Canada Day, kids.