Before we get this party train moving, be sure to check out our often-profane yet still rad friends at Underground Operations, bringing you the best in, um, underground punk rock and hostility. Their email newsletters never fail to kill us.
You know that English guy Daniel Bedingfield, who had that massive pop top-ten hit last year? Really high tenor voice? Can't remember the name of the song, but apparently he's a Christian, belonging to some evangelical church group called Ichthus that organizes events and such across south London and environs. So this band Athlete, hailed as the next Coldplay by the admittedly-overzealous Brit music press, are also part of this cell group, as it were, only everyone's real hush-hush about their faith for varying reasons. Interesting story. [Thanks, rockrebel]
Check it out: the cover art for the upcoming second album from Mae, due out March 29th on Tooth & Nail Records. It's pwetty. [musicrefuge]
One of the bands on Solid State Records I know nothing about, As Cities Burn, have an album coming out soonish(June), and now I know more about them thanks to this.
Underoath are the cover boys for March's issue of Alternative Press magazine. Apparently a bunch of 'Christian' bands are featured, as AP endeavours to bring us the latest in trendy music. Yes.
Some sad news: Aaron Marrs, filmmaker and graphic artist for a lot of bands you have in your CD racks, was killed in a boating accident up in Alaska January 15th while working on a commercial fishing documentary. His clientele in the graphics field included The Evan Anthem, Relient K, rapper John Reuben and more. I'm not gonna pretend I know this guy, but I do know the name, and he was 27, which is a scant two years older than I, and our condolences go out to his family and friends. For information regarding a benefit show for his company and donation extras, here it is.
For reasons I simply can't ascertain, the visitor count here at sd.com has been rising steadily for weeks now.
Thank you all for coming. We'll do our best to continue to make it worth your while, in God's grace. Peace!
I saw posters around town recently for a Torn Within show, and I'd heard the name here and there and probably would have gone if I didn't have all the things going on otherwise, and now I read this and really wish I'd gone. Compared to Killswitch Engage, Darkest Hour and Shadows Fall? Dang, that's high company.
Fearless Records, purveyors of Punk Goes Pop, are now putting together Punk Goes '80s. It's pretty self-explanatory; bands appearing so far include Emery, Boys Night Out, Relient K, and Rufio, among others. [soundthesirens]
Tooth and Nail Records' latest signing, Waking Ashland, had their debut album done by Lou Giordano, who produced Taking Back Sunday's latest album. And since that album(Where You Want To Be) sounds bloody amazing, I expect greatness from Waking Ashland. No pressure, though.
'Forever In Our Hearts' is apparently the new 'Give Peace A Chance': it's a star-studded number aimed at raising relief funds for the victims of the southeast-Asian tsunami a month ago. P.O.D vocalist Sonny Sandoval, Papa Roach bassist Tobin Esperance, 311 bassist P-Nut, R&B star Mya, soul singer Brian McKnight and a bunch of other actors and musicians are in on this. Good cause. Hope the song isn't cringeworthy. [rockrebel]
Interesting story came out earlier this week that Rolling Stone magazine had canceled an ad paid for by Zondervan, American's largest publisher of the Bible, for their new version of the Word, called Today's New International Version. Now, I've grown up with the NIV that came out originally in 1978, and I don't know what 'Today's' implies, but it's intriguing that RS was panned by some critics and has since reversed their stance, deciding to the 'low-key' ad after all. After all, this is the magazine that once "carried classified advertising for mail-order divinity degrees". Nice. Other outlets running the ad include Blender magazine, mtv.com, satirical news journal The Onion and...Modern Bride...? Sure. In Rolling Stone's case, I wonder if their decision has anything to do with the likes of Switchfoot and their ilk finding major success, thereby gaining readers when featured in the mag? Hmmm.
This one's for Ryan: four of Pennywise's oldest records are being digitally remastered and released March 8th. Included are Pennywise, Unknown Road, Full Circle and About Time. Pennywise are Ryan's favourite punk band. That's the link here.
Hardcore legends Youth Brigade will put out a new record this fall, their first since 1996. You know they've been around 25 years? I did. [aversion]
I hadn't heard, but Thursday were apparently rumoured to be breaking up around Christmas - they're not. "We are still going strong but we are focusing on writing new material," the band said in a statement refuting the breakup rumors. "We will still tour just as much as we have been, just not for a little while because of writing. We have some new ideas that we are working on and we are really excited about the possibilities for this next record." I hope it's better than War All The Time. It was a decent album, but no Full Collapse.
Pluto Records has done gone and done it again, signing another band, The Deadly, straight outta the Illadelph, as The Roots refer to their hometown, or 'Philadelphia' for the rest of us. The Deadly feature ex-Turmoil guys, which is large, and they will tear your face off with The Wolves Are Here Again, their Pluto full-length debut. It's already done, and it'll be in stores everywhere March 29th. Worrrrd.
Essential Listening for today, January 28th, is a Sub Pop band. Now, we've rarely devoted coverage to Sub Pop bands outside the occasional mention of The Shins(what a great band), but As Tall As Lions' debut Lafcadio(2004) reminded me today of what Further Seems Forever might sound like if they didn't write concise songs so much as drawn-out, emo-sounding numbers - and had former Big Wreck singer Ian Thornley up front. As Tall As Lions: I like.
It's come to our attention that there is now, from the publishers of Guitar World magazine, an offshoot called Christian Guitarist + Bassist. I paged through Issue One last week and encountered interviews with MercyMe, Skillet and other top guns in the Christian contemporary scene. Decent-looking magazine, I suppose, but isn't it a little superfluous?
If you're hitting up the Norma Jean/Atreyu/Unearth tour at any point along the way, check this out to hear the openers, Scars of Tomorrow. Fun band. Good breakdowns.
Some news from Australia: longtime contributor Meagan S. attended a Third Day/Audio Adrenaline show on Australia's southeast coast last night - which was really about now Eastern Standard Time; you figure it out - and Third Day apparently went bowling with Rookie, who opened the show. They lost, and according to the bet they'd made, the members of big-time-selling rock band Third Day had to sport Rookie t-shirts onstage, while vocalist Mac Powell was made to say 'meow' twenty times with the crowd(presumably) in convulsions. Good times Down Under.
Becoming the Archetype are Solid State Records' newest signing, and after a fiasco yesterday trying to hear their stuff on purevolume, today the metal assault has been rained down upon mine head. Arguably the craziest band Solid State's ever signed. See what you think. Grinding death and melodic, metallic screamo with split-second quiet interludes. I likes. Like that description? I made that up myself.
Stop what you're doing. If you're into metal and extreme music, and if you're here there's a good chance you are, and you haven't heard The Red Chord yet, do it. I'm floored. A tech-type giant that has a TWO-STEP part? Amazing!!
If you hadn't noticed, an interview with Zao vocalist Dan Weyandt is now posted right above these very words here. You can hardly miss the giant ZAO thing, no? No. We'll be retrieving the Anberlin feature that was previously up from whatever technological quicksand it fell into and put it in the regular Interviews section(yonder left). Meantime, we think the Zao piece is pretty good, so go read it.
Today, for the first time, I devoted serious attention to Pillar, long one of the biggest-selling Christian rock bands out there; I saw them live last summer and it was a good show bordering on really good(technical problems prevented them from blowing me away). So I sat through a bunch of their latest, Where Do We Go From Here, and I'm not only thoroughly impressed that they have their own sound amid their radio-rock clone peers, but also wondering how come they aren't a lot bigger than they are. Good band.
According to punktastic over in the UK, Arizona monsters The Bled have signed with...Vagrant Records? What? That makes no sense. One Bled breakdown is heavier than all the rest of their bands put together.
Essential Listening for today, January 25th: Smalltown Poets have been one of my absolute favourite bands for at least seven years now, since their first self-titled album came out on a label I can't even remember(Essential? No...crap). Their new record, It's Later Than It's Ever Been, was done with the help of none other than Tooth & Nail mogul Brandon Ebel through his BEC Records imprint - and man, I'm starting to think this band will never disappoint me. Songs like 'Show Me Who You Are', 'The Truth Is Out' and 'Upside Down'(that's just the first three songs on the album) prove that Smalltown is far superior to most of what's on the radio, and deserve to be there - but never will be. Boo. Comparisons? I've always found similarities between STP and '90s radio kings Gin Blossoms - another really good band.
I came across the first review I've read of the new Strike Anywhere B-sides/rarities collection, entitled To Live In Discontent; the reviewer states, "The fact that Discontent is just as good as any other SA record is testament to how fantatsic this band really is." For the full scoop, check this out.
As usual, they phrase it far better(and funnier) than we could, so without further ado, stolen from Relevant: "High school students in Pennsylvania heard about "intelligent design" for the first time today. The Pennsylvania school district has attracted national attention by requiring students to be made aware of an alternative teaching other than the theory of evolution. In case you forgot, intelligent design is a concept that holds that the universe is so complex, it had to be created by an unspecified guiding force. In other words, maybe God had something to do with it...". Classic.
If you're into that show Joan of Arcadia on CBS, pay attention to the February 18th episode, where Black Eyed Peas main man Will.I.Am will be portraying a guy called Three Card Monte Guy God. Odd.
This excites me, though it's just rumours at this point: pioneering hiphop/soul singer Lauryn Hill is apparently close to finishing her second album, with some help - allegedly - from some guy named Kanye West(who?...oh yeah, ten-Grammy-nominations Kanye West). If it happens, it will more than likely be great, if Hill can regain the form she had on 1998's masterful The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.
Conservative Christians in the US are apparently decrying the wildly popular Spongebob Squarepants series, saying it's promoting homosexuality to kids. Gimme a break.
Yesterday we brought you word that Queen are doing a big reunion tour, and our disaste was hopefully adequately conveyed - now this: teen princess Kelly Clarkson will be dueting with Creedence Clearwater Revival legend John Fogerty at the Super Bowl February 6th in Jacksonville, Florida. Idiocy.
Green Day and U2 will be performing on the Grammys February 13th. I hope Green Day does it like 1994 and destroys the place.
This Just In: 20-year-old Cleveland Cavaliers phenom LeBron James can straight-up play.
Smallman Records, home of Moneen, The Reason and tons more, are getting a push from Warner Bros. down in the States; the first album to see the benefits, interestingly enough, will be the stellar new slab from Comeback Kid, from Smallman's home base of Winnipeg. [chartattack]
First, there was The Fall of Troy. Then, there was I Killed The Prom Queen, rising out of the ashes of Troy, who are making waves out of their home base in Adelaide, Australia; the band has put some new material from an upcoming Resist Records EP up on the web here. The EP will have two new songs plus a cover of an old Fall of Troy song. [noisetheory]
In my email inbox was what was certainly a veiled threat from B-Kidd at OGS detailing how I 'MUST hear' a song called 'Matthias Replaces Judas' by spazzmatics Showbread, so I hit up purevolume, and while that particular tune ain't there, there're two other songs to enjoy. Fun band. I just read that chapter of the Book of Matthew where Matthias was elected to replace Judas Iscariot, too. Freaky.
And I'm just kidding about the threat part. B-Kidd and I go waaaay back. Fo' sheezy.
I was at my Friendly Local Christian Retailer last week and saw a poster for Fallout 2005, and what captured my attention was that it's going down in Winchester, Ontario. Now, most of you might not know where that is, but it's a little teeny village near where yours truly spent his teenage years, and distinctly odd as a locale for any sort of Christian festival. So it's the very cute Jill Paquette, a very talented Canadian singer/songwriter now based out of Nashville(natch), Matt Brouwer from Texas, and some other folks. High-class all the way..in WINCHESTER? Weird. If you're around, it's February 19th-20th; more info over here.
Attention all fans of great ska, trash punk and a band called Ghosts Of Modern Man I've never heard: Frostbite Tour 2005 is set to roll March 4th in Calgary with an Ottawa stop scheduled for the 16th. Playing are the aforementioned GOMM, opening for The Planet Smashers and Guttermouth. Not a big fan of Guttermouth, but the Smashers always rock. [punknews]
In case you live somewhere other than Earth, late-night TV legend Johnny Carson died yesterday at 79. Emphysema was the cause according to his nephew. Don't start smoking, kids, seriously. Anyway, he'll be missed, even by this 25-year-old who didn't start watching Letterman til 1994, two years after Carson bid adieu to thirty years on The Tonight Show. Great comedy is great comedy, and no one, repeat no one, did it better than Johnny.
This band Maxeen whose album was sent to me like a year and a half ago for review - I never did it, my apologies to Sideonedummy Records - have now signed with the big ol' WB and put a video for their tune 'Soleil' on the interweb. It's right over here, if you're seriously wanting to see it.
Weird: both of the new guys(drummer and guitar) in The Chariot are refugees from Cool Hand Luke, who sound exactly zero percent like the Chariot. What's with this? Is CHL dead? They go from that stuff to touring with Stretch Arm Strong? Rad.
One of the few pop-punk bands I've seen live and genuinely liked, back in 2002, has broken up. R.I.P., Antifreeze, 1997-2004.
Norway's Extol are putting out their third record, The Blueprint Dives, once again with Solid State and Century Media handling the distribution; the Solid State edition will be in stores March 29th, the other May 3rd. Yay progressive techy-timey metal.
Aaron North, formerly of The Icarus Line, is gonna be in the new touring version of Nine Inch Nails, who have a new album coming, not that I care. Wasn't this the guy who was one-half of the infamous buddyhead.com? That site was hilariously vicious. [theprp]
Oh, man. Longtime personal favourites Project 86 are doing a quick tour with new favourites He Is Legend and Classic Case(who were smart enough to nab Beloved frontman Josh Moore when that band bit the big one). The dates:
March 03rd Phoenix, AZ - Mason Jar
March 04th San Diego, CA - Soma
March 05th Anaheim, CA - Chain Reaction
March 08th Seattle, WA - Graceland
March 09th Portland, OR - Meow Meow
March 11th Orangevale, CA - Club Retro (featuring Still Life Projector)
March 12th Bakersfield, CA - Jerry's Pizza
Remember Mudvayne? They have a new album coming April 12th called Lost And Found. I couldn't care less, really, but it's funny because I was this vintage store called Legends today and saw Mudvayne's 'Death Blooms' single(or whatever that song was called) for like ninety-nine cents. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
Anberlin have a new record coming very soon. That's not news. However, if you wanna hear it first and free(six tracks' worth), it's online. I really like what I hear.
Hey, Haste The Day lasted to make a second album! I wasn't sure they'd be able to hack it after a decent but unfulfilling debut. GGGarth'll produce, it'll be around twelve songs, and it's due out June 7th - or so Solid State Records hopes.
Speaking of Solid State, their newest signing, Becoming The Archetype, have some initial material over here. Too bad I can't make it load or I'd probably be enjoying it right now.
Stolen Clip time: "Premonitions Of War will be touring Canada with Ion Dissonance and Despised Icon. from March 31st through to April 21st. Expect dates to be announced shortly." Woohoo!
Queen are doing a reunion tour.
I'll say that again. QUEEN are doing a reunion tour. Without Freddie Mercury, who died fourteen years ago of AIDS. I'm so pissed at this I'm not even talking any more about it. How dare Brian May and Roger Taylor?? [buzzgrinder]
Screwed again, not that I'm surprised: U2 have announced the world tour behind How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, and one Canadian date(Vancouver, April 28th at GM Place) made the cut for thirteen north American cities before the band deserts for Europe. Crap! I'd heard unsubstantiated rumours of an Ottawa show - no dice. [cmcentral]
I first heard Mat Kearney in 2002 on a DJ Maj compilation album, and besides that he didn't really make any waves til a few months ago when his Bullet record found some acclaim - and now he's signed with Columbia Records. That was(kinda) quick. I like what I've heard of the guy.
Finis.
This California band Lorene Drive my friend Laurie's a big fan of has confirmed that James Paul Wisner(Dashboard, Further Seems Forever) will produce their Lobster Records debut. Eventually I'll hear it. [absolutepunk]
Norma Jean have completed a video for 'Bayonetwork', off the upcoming sophomore album O God, The Aftermath. Apparently they feel this particular ditty "accurately reflects the new record." Well then. A new website will soon go up with all of this fun schtuff.
A whole buncha videos, right over here. Yes. Videos. And one of the dudes in the He Is Legend video reminded me of me. Weird.
A Taking Back Sunday/Jimmy Eat World tour? I wanna go!
Hey Mercedes broke up. I don't care. Though I did own their first album years ago.
One of the craziest bands around, The Black Dahlia Murder, have a new album coming later this year called Miasma. I know this, because I just read it here.
If you live in or near Baltimore, tomorrow's a good night to see H2O, Agnostic Front, Stretch Arm Strong and With Honor. No idea where the venue is, just that the show's on. What a lineup.
According to this interview, As I Lay Dying will be doing "a lot of dates in Canada" in March. I for one am quite excited.
I knew it was big-ish, but not this: if you're from Jersey, pay attention t the complete lineup for Bamboozle Fest, as of three days ago. All bands I would go see are duly marked with "Yay!".
FRIDAY, APRIL 29TH, 2005
GATES: 4:00PM
BRAND NEW(yay!)
THRICE(yay!)
FINCH
STRAYLIGHT RUN
I CAN MAKE A MESS....
ANBERLIN(yay!!!!)
ACCEPTANCE
JAMISONPARKER
EMANUEL
NIGHTMARE OF YOU
LUX COURAGEOUS
THE MODERN
THE EVAN ANTHEM
THE GOODWILL
PAULSON
OUTSMARTING SIMON
ROSES ARE RED
ANTERABBAE
FLASHLIGHT ARCADE
IT DIES TODAY(yay!)
SATURDAY, APRIL 30TH, 2005
GATES: NOON
THE STARTING LINE
FALL OUT BOY
FURTHER SEEMS FOREVER(OH YAAAAY!!!!!!!)
(Featuring CHRIS CARRABBA)
MIDTOWN
RELIENT K(yay!)
RUFIO(yay!)
HIDDEN IN PLAINVIEW
SILVERSTEIN(yay! Go Canada!)
MONEEN(Ditto! yay!)
THE ACADEMY IS...
MELEE
THIS DAY AND AGE
CAFFEINE
NUMBER ONE FAN
VAL EMMICH
CRIME IN STEREO
A THORN FOR EVERY HEART
SAOSIN(yay!)
EMERY(yay!)
THE BLED(YAAAAAAAY!)
VAN STONE
SUNDAY, MAY 1ST, 2005
GATES: NOON
MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE
ALKALINE TRIO
BOUNCING SOULS
FLOGGING MOLLY
THE EARLY NOVEMBER
CATCH 22
SCATTER THE ASHES
THE SNAKE, THE CROSS, THE CROWN
CIRCA SURVIVE
THE FIGHT
BAYSIDE(yay!)
SAY ANYTHING
IDIOT PILOT
PUNCHLINE
STREET DOGS
DAYS AWAY
ACTION ACTION
THE SLEEPING
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL HEROS
BIG D AND THE KIDS TABLE
KANE HODDER
Man, that is a lotta bands. The festival's website is over here. [pastepunk]
Comeback Kid the "next huge breakout hardcore band"? I hope so!
Holy crap: some live Italian footage of Zao throwing down 'The Rising End'. This is what I missed last June when they were prevented from playing because of some jackass pulling the fire alarm. Enjoy.
In other news, this computer I use currently will not let me view any Beloved footage from that same website. CURSES.
Notes From A Session At Music World(fine retail chain):
- Death Cab For Cutie's vocalist Ben Gibbard's pipes are spot-on identical to those of Mae's Dave Elkins. I couldn't believe it. And yes, The Postal Service, Gibbard's collaboration with Jimmy Tamborello, is awesome.
- I was four tracks into Mos Def's new album The New Danger before I heard any rapping at all. I was not impressed.
- MercyMe's record was in between those of Metallica, Mest and Men At Work. Life's funny.
A second show has been added here in Ottawa for the sold-out Rise Against tour - March 6th, to go along with the original March 9th date. So gitcher tickets now.
Says here that MercyMe's two biggest hits will be reissued in DualDisc format, which begs the question: what is DualDisc? I've missed something. Again.
The Chariot, shortly after releasing their insanely-titled debut album(seriously, it's like twenty words long), have lost two members - and what's interesting is that the fill-in drummer is none other than Mark Nicks of Cool Hand Luke. I knew that CHL's roots are in emocore-ish territory, but the Chariot? Quite the leap. [musicrefuge]
Rumour has it of a Five Iron Frenzy DVD coming out this summer, containing videos for 'A Flowery Song', 'Handbook For the Sellout', 'All That Is Good', 'Farsighted' and 'Wizard Needs Food Badly'. Sounds like a stellar time.
The band may not like this, but then again with that hair they've got, they're probably easy-going dudes: Coheed & Cambria played three new songs at a tsunami-relief benefit gig in Jersey last week, and this website managed to have 'em all up online for you listening pleasure within hours. Ah, the wonders of technology. [saveyourscene]
New stuff from Every Time I Die? Right here! Crushing. Some different vocals from Keith Buckley, and a weird little vocal bridge, but hey, progress can't die. There's also a new track from A Life Once Lost.
And another reason to love ETID: they turned down a week of opening for Slipknot to finish their new record Gutter Phenomenon, and now they're heading over to Japan with Shadows Fall and As I Lay Dying in February. Now that's a tour.
According to this, Thrice's next album will be out next fall, as in almost a year from now. That's pure insanity. The Rolling Stone piece mentions twelve tracks 'incorporating a wider range of instrumentation'. Can cheesy synths be far behind? They're all the rage! (I see you, Bleeding Through.) Before the album, there'll be a DVD out March 29th called If We Could Only See Us Now, chronicling the first six years of Thriceness. Makes me think of that Tonic hit from 1997, 'If You Could Only See'. Remember that song? Rad. [absolutepunk]
Musical Discovery Of This Rough, Rough Week: Lamb of God. Wow.
A Tour I Hope Comes to Ottawa: Underoath(to make up for their stiffing with Senses Fail last September), The Chariot(to make up for their stiffing last spring/summer due to border issues) and Hopesfall(because they're always here). Yes. No dates yet, but get ready.
The Number 12 Looks Like You have an EP dropping January 25th(that's Tuesday) on Eyeball Records. That's the label that put out the first couple Thursday albums, if you needed cred of some sort.
Here's the deal: in our forum, long-neglected by yours truly and everyone else, there has appeared a link under the username 'mike's apartment' that contains some very nasty images, ie porn. This was not put there with our consent, but since I'm pretty non-tech-savvy, I have to wait til I can get someone who knows what they're doing and make it disappear. Until then, please accept my personal apologies for this.
- mike/editor-in-chief
This happened a couple weeks ago, but since we don't keep the pulse of the business side of music as much as the rock and roll, we weren't aware of it til now: Barry Landis, head of Word Entertainment's Word Label Group(complicated, yes) was canned amid restructuring of the company. Some guy Jim Van Hook is now in charge there(he's been around a loooooong time), and no word yet on Landis' replacement. This is the guy who shepherded the careers of Sixpence None The Richer, Chevelle L.A. Symphony, among others, and we all know what happened to the first two. Another good man bites the dust. [rockrebel]
A quick product placement: let's hear it for Good Sense Trail Mix!!
If you were one of the relatively few who were into Calibretto(formerly Calibretto 13 before legal wrangling dropped the latter half), back in the day on Tooth & Nail Recs, head over here for a massive collection of mp3s featuring outtakes, unreleased material, B-sides, etc etc etc ET CETERA. The band is over - the party lives on. And for a blast from the past, check out an interview I did with Calibretto(if it's still up) here. [decapolis
A quick hit: Pluto Records rising stars Please Mr. Grave Digger remind me of Squad 5-0 fronted by the unhinged vocals of Keith Buckley(Every Time I Die). So rad.
Agreed! Ha.
Some happy happy joy joy news from Floodgate for you. This entire post will concern Floodgate stuff. So if you hate Floodgate, leave now.
January 28th is National Kazoo Day. I was not aware of this, but I do remember getting a similar email from this particular publicist last year commemorating the occasion. So if you own a kazoo, play on, brothers and sisters...play on.
Mourning September are heading out on the Little Green Tour with Spoken, Subseven and Falling Up; sounds like a little slice of modern-rock heaven to me. Here's the ol' itinerary.
01.19.05 7:30pm
Studio Seven, 110 South Horton St.
Seattle, WA
$10 ADV $12 ATD
info
1.20.05 7:00pm
East River Fellowship Church, 2233 E. Main St.
Hillsboro, OR
Cost: $9 ADV $12 ATD
info
1.21.05 TBA Spokane
1.22.05 7:00pm
The Venetian Theater, 241 1st Ave. W
Albany, OR
Cost: $10 ADV $13 ATD
info
1.23.05 7:00pm
South Medford High School Auditorium , 815 S. Oakdale
Medford, OR
Cost: $9 ADV $12 ATD
1.24.05 7:00pm
Mountain Springs Church , Longley West Plaza, South Virginia Street
Reno, NV 89561
$9 ADV $13 ATD
info
1.27.05 7:00pm
The Underground , 2401 Olympus Drive
Roseville CA 95661
Cost: 10.00 ATD
More Info: 916.804.7238
1.28.05 7:00pm
Hearts of the Valley Christian Church, 1328 H Street
Modesto, CA
Cost: $10 Advance $13 ATD
More Info: 209.404.5862
1.29.05 7:00pm
Crystal Cathedral, 12141 Lewis Street
Garden Grove, CA
Cost: $15 ATD
info
1.30.05 7:00pm
Station 3:16 / Valley Bible Fellowship, 3965 South Durango Drive
Las Vegas NV 89147
Cost TBD
More info: 702.254.2251
1.31.05 7:00pm
The Gate, 900 22nd Street
Bakersfield CA 93301
Cost 8.00 ATD
More Info: 916.804.7238
2.01.05 OFF
2.02.05 TBA San Diego
2.03.05 7:00pm
The Heights Church, 2121 Larry Caldwell Drive
Prescott, AZ 86301
Cost: $9 ADV $12 ATD
More Info: 480.812.1100
02.04.05 7:00pm
Red Mountain Community Church, 6101 E. Virginia Street
Mesa, AZ 85215
Cost: $9 ADV $12 ATD
More Info: 480.812.1100
02.05.05 7:00pm
Church at Arrowhead, 7902 W. Union Hills
Glendale, AZ 85308
Cost: $9 ADV $12 ATD
More Info: 480.812.1100
2.06.05 7:00pm
Eastside Assembly of God, 1930 S. Wilmot
Tuscan, AZ 85711
$9 ADV $12 ATD
More Info: 480.812.1100
And in other Floodgate Bands Touring Their Heinies Off news, Forever Changed, who've been creating a steady internet buzz, will be playing a bunch of shows starting January 21st down in Bradenton, Florida(spring training home of the Baltimore Orioles!...hello?...no baseball fans here apparently). The dates for that tour:
Fri Jan 21st, 2005
Bradenton, FL @ Rockerfellas - 10pm
w/North, Rumors Of War & The Sophomore Effort
5520 14th St. W
Sat Jan 22nd, 2005
Seminole, FL @ Boiler Room - 8pm, $7
6900 Seminole Blvd
Fri Feb 4th, 2005
Chesapeake, VA @ Harvest Assembly - 7:00pm, $5
525 Kempsville Rd
Sat Feb 5th, 2005
Lynchburg, VA @ Liberty
Tues Feb 8th, 2005
Orlando, FL @ The Social - 6:00pm, $10
W/Anberlin, The Kick & Fireflight
Anberlin CD Release show!
Wed Feb 9th, 2005
Wilmington, NC @ The Soapbox
W/He Is Legend and Classic Case
Thur Feb 10th, 2005
Myrtle Beach, SC @ The Lime Light
W/ He Is Legend and Classic Case
Fri Feb 11th, 2005
Raleigh , NC @ The Brewery
W/ He Is Legend and Classic Case
Sat Feb 12th, 2005
Annapolis, MD @ RTBC - 7:00pm, $8
W/ He Is Legend, Classic Case & A Perfect Kiss
2990 Riva Trace Parkway
Sun Feb 13th, 2005
New York, NY @ Knitting Factory - 8:00pm, $8
W/ He Is Legend and Classic Case
Tue Feb 15th, 2005
Patchogue, NY @ Oasis
W/ He Is Legend and Classic Case
30-D Grove Avenue
Wed Feb 16th, 2005
Syracuse, NY @ The Furnace
W/ He Is Legend and Classic Case
312 Lakeside Rd.
Thur Feb 17th, 2005
Akron, OH @ The Lime Spider
W/ He Is Legend and Classic Case
207 S Main St
Fri Feb 18th, 2005
Morgantown, WV @ The Waterhouse - 9:00pm, $8
W/ He Is Legend and Classic Case
Sat Feb 19th, 2005
Indiana, PA @ Chevy Chase Community Center - 7:00pm, $5
W/ He Is Legend and Classic Case
640 North 5th Avenue
Sun Feb 20th, 2005
Kettering, OH @ Gathering Grounds - 9pm, $10
W/ He Is Legend and Classic Case
4638 Wilmington Pike
Mon Feb 21st, 2005
Toledo, OH @ The Underground
W/ He Is Legend and Classic Case
209 N Superior
Tue Feb 22nd, 2005
Livonia, MI @ Trinity House
W/ He Is Legend and Classic Case
38840 Six Mile Road
Wed Feb 23rd, 2005
Grand Rapids, MI @ 10 Weston Theater @ Morningstar 75 Coffee House
W/ He Is Legend and Classic Case
10 Weston St.
Thur Feb 24th, 2005
St. Louis, MO @ Creepy Crawl
W/ He Is Legend and Classic Case
412 N. Tucker
Fri Feb 25th, 2005
Nashville, TN @ Rocketown
W/ He Is Legend and Classic Case
Sat Feb 26th, 2005
Atlanta, GA @ The Greenhouse - 7pm, 6pm
W/ He Is Legend and Classic Case
5067 Chamblee Dunwoody Road
Sun Feb 27th, 2005
Greenville, NC @ Pirate Underground
W/ He Is Legend and Classic Case
Wed March 9th, 2005
CD RELEASE SHOW!
Pensacola, FL @ TBA
W/Chasing Victory & Red Lipstick Letter
Thur March 10th, 2005
CD RELEASE SHOW!
Panama City Beach, FL @ The Corner
W/Chasing Victory
Fri March 11th, 2005
CD RELEASE SHOW!
Columbus, GA @ The Core
W/Chasing Victory
Sat March 12th, 2005
CD RELEASE SHOW!
Orlando, FL @ BackBooth
W/Chasing Victory, There For Tomorrow and more
Sun March 13th, 2005
CD RELEASE SHOW!
Kissimmee, FL (Private Show)
Mon March 14th, 2005
Daytona Beach, FL @ 1st United Methodist Church of Port Orange - 7pm, $5
w/ Chasing Victory & Runner Up
305 Dunlawton Ave. Port Orange, Fl 32127
Tue March 15th, 2005
Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ TBA
W/ Chasing Victory
Wed March 16th, 2005
CD RELEASE SHOW!
Stuart, FL @ Cruiser Tavern
W/ Chasing Victory, On Watership Down, Rainy Day Dallas & Prescription Death
Thur March 17th, 2005
CD RELEASE SHOW!
Lakeland, FL @ TBA
W/Chasing Victory & Arthur Woodale
Fri March 18th, 2005
CD RELEASE SHOW!
Tallahassee, FL @ The Beta Bar
W/Chasing Victory, Finding Aquila, Defining Moment, Some Seattle Dream
809 Railroad Ave.
Sat March 19th, 2005
CD RELEASE SHOW!
Jacksonville, FL @ Murray Hill Theatre - 6:30pm, $8
W/ Chasing Victory, Our Finest Hour, Bernard, Burning Regret & Sonset Down
932 EDGEWOOD AVE. S
Sun March 20th, 2005
Bradenton, Fl @ The Front - 7pm, $5
W/ Chasing Victory & Burden Of A Day
6802 14th st
Wed March 23rd, 2005
Surfside, SC @ Surfside Christian Church
w/ Chasing Victory
Thur March 24th, 2005
Raleigh, NC @ TBA
W/ Chasing Victory & Defending Brooklyn
Sat March 26th, 2005
Annapolis, MD @ TBA
W/ Chasing Victory & A Perfect Kiss
Sun March 27th, 2005
Agawam, MA @ Lighthouse Christian Center
W/ Chasing Victory & Stratia
Mon March 28th, 2005
Sicklerville, NJ @ SUMC
W/ Chasing Victory
406 church rd
Wed March 30th, 2005
Lexington, KY @ TBA
W/ Chasing Victory
Thur March 31st, 2005
Cincinnati, OH @ TBA
W/ Chasing Victory & The Long Goodnight
Fri April 1st, 2005
Lafayette, IN @ Sacred Grounds
W/ Chasing Victory
Sun April 3rd, 2005
Lavonia or Detriot, MI @ TBA
Thur April 7th, 2005
Huntsville, AL @ TBA
Fri April 8th, 2005
Atlanta, GA @ TBA
Forever Changed had better love me forever for doing all that HTML work on those tour dates. Oh, and their upcoming debut album is called The Need To Feel Alive. It was produced by the guy who does Dashboard Confessional's records, along with Further Seems Forever and Underoath. So I can safely say that Forever Changed will sound amazing and original. I hope.
I didn't even know about this, but Floodgate signed this band called The Myriad and they're in the studio in Seattle somewhere producer Aaron Marsh(the vocalist from Copeland. So they're sitting there as you read this working it up, and it'll be done next month. The mixer is a dude who did records for Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains and Candlebox. So we know he has never left Seattle. Ever.
Remember how we said Spitfire were back together? Well, not only that, but one of the Norma Jean guitarists has temporarily joined up with the band to make the new record. No, he hasn't left Norma Jean. Quitcher bellyachin'. [hardcorechristian - still the funniest news column around]
Watashi Wa, Copeland and Underoath will all be on this upcoming tribute to The Police that the Milita Group kiddies are putting together - except didn't Watashi Wa break up last year? Hmmm...
Some Geez, I Can't Believe It's Been Pushed Back Again news, Propagandhi's new album has been delayed - again. Reason listed on their website? "Dave Mustaine falling asleep on my arm." That's funny. He was in Metallica years and years ago, left in a huff, and went on to form Megadeth, who are still making good records to this day, in distinct contrast to Metallica. Anyway, we'll all have to wait for Prop's new album. [aversion]
I never got to see them live: Despistado have split, leaving their new album, a re-release of their debut called The People Of and Their Versus, to be released on the internet April 5th. I've never even heard this band, and now they're toast. Sucks. At least Jade Tree Records still have the almighty Strike Anywhere.
sweetdisaster faves Sloan(okay, personal faves Sloan) are aiming to have a greatest-hits compilation in stores by this summer, along with a DVD. No release date for either yet, but the album will have two new songs. Always reason to celebrate.
The first single, 'Beverly Hills', will be on the radio starting March 21st, but the fifth album from Weezer still doesn't have a title or day-you-can-bumrush-your-local-joint-and-buy-it date. Obviously it's probably all over the internet already anyway. So what's the point? Next. Although I still think it's funny that frontman Rivers attends Harvard.
A band whose album The Difference Between Me And You Is That I'm Not On Fire is easily one of the best-named in history, McLusky, has broken up too. Apparently there's a pandemic of such things.
I have a feeling this album will blow my mind when I finally hear it, but for those who are new to Buried Inside, read a review of their latest, Chronoclast. Yay Ottawa bands making a name for themselves.
This Just In: the only thing worse than working some stupid know-nothing job is looking for a stupid know-nothing job.
Anyway.
As we all are aware, March 8th will see Norma Jean and Atreyu rolling through Ottawa with Unearth in tow - but to rub salt in the wound, apparently He Is Legend will be part of that same tour a month later over in the UK:
April 13th Nottingham, UK - Rock City
April 14th Glasgow, UK - Garage
April 15th Manchester, UK - MHD
April 16th London, UK - Astoria
April 17th Wolverhampton, UK - Wulfrun
So if you live there and you're reading this, you might wanna clear some of those dates. [punktastic]
The Jealous Sound, straight outta Cali, have signed with The Milita Group, also straight outta Cali. I've never heard this band, but I've heard good things, and I bet a bunch of you reading this have all their songs on your mp3 playlists. Or whatever the kids are up to these days. Oh, and Milita head Rory Felton has a little blurb in the current issue of Relevant.
Offspring have joined confirmed acts like Thrice(who'll be promoting their new album, I imagine), Fall Out Boy and The Transplants(they're still existing?) on the 2005 Warped Tour.
I've never been a huge fan of No Warning(out of Toronto), but they do put on a decent show, and they've been touring with heavyweights like The Used, Funeral For A Friend and now Sum 41(that tour hit Ottawa Sunday night - anyone wanna tell me how it went?). For a quickie little profile, check this out.
Word.
Until further notice, sweetdisaster will be presenting no new content other than the occasional news bits here and there. The stress levels have risen to the point where I can no longer cope with everything, so certain things have to be put on the down-low for a spell. We'll be back.
So, this just in: The Fully Down have cemented their place as Ottawa's band that's Most Likely To Explode In 2005 with their video rel1ease party tonight at Zaphod's; I was a little worried that they'd be blown off their own stage after London's Shotgun Rules destroyed it with their screamo attack. We were duly impressed. sweetdisaster supporter Numero Uno Heidi E.'s in town for the weekend, and together she and yours truly represented like never before.
Preceding tonight's extravaganza, last night in Kingston Is Grace Enough, Parlormaid and Hartsfield played Clark's Hall Pub at Queen's U, and it was a solid show. Props to Chris at rockcrew for putting it together.
News when I have time.
Aight, change of plans: sweetdisaster will be reppin' two strong at tonight's Hartsfield/Is Grace Enough/Parlormaid show in Kingston, Ontario(Clark's Hall Pub, Queens University). It's like seven bucks or something and the show starts around nine or ten. So be there. Word.
My parents sent me The Blind Boys of Alabama's Go Tell It On The Mountain album today! I love my folks.
A non-chronological followup to our posting of Upcoming Ottawa Shows earlier today, because this week's XPress had some new stuff:
- Sum 41 are bringing No Warning and Montreal's Unwise(crazy good live band; I saw 'em two weeks back with Not By Choice) through town on Sunday - three days from now. I won't be there.
- J-Zone and Louis Logic are playing a Large Hiphop Show at Babylon(317 Bank St.) with openers - catch 'em all now - Skratch Bastid, Applied Science, Rugged Intellect(new Ottawa crew) and Periodic Trends.
- 2Live Crew are returning to the capital - not that I care. That's February 11th at Babylon.
- And the killer finale: guesting at the '05 DMC elimination here in town April 1st at the Capital Music Hall - your friend and mine, Rjd2. I'm officially having a stroke over here.
Before we proceed, let it be known to one and all that my boy Chris has 'Lowrider' as the ringtone on his cell phone. Word.
In an attempt to distract us all from how terrible Meteora was, Linkin Park donated ten thousand bucks to the tsunami relief effort in southeast Asia. Great gesture. The record still sucks. Oh, and the Canadian government's donation has been upped to $425 million as of today. Truly something to be proud of.
Toronto rapper Manafest, aka Chris Greenwood, has a new album dropping in April, called Epiphany; it'll be out on Tooth and Nail Records, which we'd heard was in the works but hadn't confirmed til this exact second. T&N are also re-releasing his debut, My Own Thing. All the information is right over here. [sphereofhiphop]
A little correction from a previous post: The Fully Down are playing Zaphod's Saturday night, and doors are at eight, not nine as we'd stated. As well, The Shotgun Rules are opening up(straight outta London, Ontario), not The Shotgun Message, as we'd also stated. We're kinda stupid around here. The hawk-eyed reader catching our miscues is none other than Samantha, who better be at the show Saturday!!
This sickened me, and since it is becoming more and more prevalent in "the scene", as the cool kids call it, read it. It concerns a band called Fire When Ready(Equal Vision Records, I believe), but the link leads to an admittedly out-of-date Christmas card photo. Take note of the dude far right - that's Aaron Scott of Marathon! Wheee! You can go read an interview we did with him in our interviews section. Wow, this got misdirected. Anyway. [buzzgrinder]
Some very advance Warped Tour stuff: Emery, .hopesfall, Boys Night Out and Yesterday's Rising have been confirmed to play the Smartpunk Stage later this summer.
G'night.
Some shows coming up in Ottawa that have just been confirmed here at the big ol' sweetdisaster HQ:
- The Fully Down's video-release party(for the song 'Love It All') is Saturday night at Zaphod's, along with Shotgun Message and Crush Buildings. 9pm, eight bucks, 19+(sorry).
- Before that, tomorrow night in Kingston(that's Friday, January 14th), Is Grace Enough are invading with Hartsfield and Parlormaid, who I remember seeing here in Ottawa years ago when they lived here. Great band. That's at Clark Hall Pub at Queen's U., all-ages, 9pm, five bucks. Worth the gas.
- The Second Glance are opening up for Quebec stars Projet Orange at Carleton U.'s Oliver's Pub on January 22nd. It's a free show, all-ages, eight pm. And it means Oliver's is reopened after some unpleasantness around Christmas time, so bring the noise.
- Alexisonfire guitarist Dallas Green is doing a solo show at Maverick's January 26th with Sleeper Set Sail(great band), Raising the Fawn and Scheme opening. All-ages/licensed, 7pm, twelve bucks. Word.
- I just found this out the other day: February 5th The Dillinger Escape Plan are coming back, this time with Toronto's The End opening. It will be so loud I won't be able to handle it at all, but after missing Dillinger three times, this one is IT. Four days before my birthday, too! Whee!
Finis.
The lovely Veronique S. found this picture on junkedcamera and sent it to me; pictured is ex-Miles Between Us vocalist Matt LaForge, and directly to the right in the black baseball cap is yours truly, staring down MBU bassist Shawn Morris with my lovely friend Kelly(black hoodie) at my side. Miles were opening for Strike Anywhere. March of 2003. Weird to see me without a beard, no? Si, senor.
This has me excited: Denison Marrs's single 'Disappear' has been chosen by the good folks at iTunes as the Discovery Download of the week for the week beginning January 11th(that would be Tuesday); it'll be a free download, expected to draw between 30,000-50,000 users. And in related news, DM's new self-titled album is hot. Like lava.
There's a whole lot of information regarding new albums and tours over here. If you're down.
Spoken-word poet Bradley Hathaway(never heard him myself, but he toured with Blindside and mewithoutYou last year) will be doing a show in Jasper, Ontario(wherever that is) March 6th; sweetdisaster contributor Dave Leibold happened upon this here link that has all the information.
Congratulations to longtime sweetdisaster supporter Laura J. in Vancouver, B.C., who will have to substitute 'Maple Ridge' from now on, because effective next month she'll be the arts and entertainment head honcho at the Maple Ridge News in that fair city. Way to go.
Interesting: this Christian band Grand Prize is on the front page of purevolume; hailing from Boise, ID, they sound like a ton of other Christian bands, and it's funny: under their name on the site it says 'Rock/Christian'. That clears up any misconceptions, I guess. Listen if you're down with that.
The anticipated Zao/Juliana Theory tour is a reality: taking place in March and April, it'll be dubbed the City of Champions tour. Catchy. Openers in various spots will be Open Hand, The Takeover, Sinai Beach(oh heavens I hope that's here in Ottawa) and The Black Maria(whoever they are). Wow. We'll have a tour itinerary when it's available to us. [hxc]
So yesterday I'm hanging around my Friendly Local Christian Retailer, waiting for the Flikkemizer to find someone to cover his desk so's we could go for lunch at Nicastro's(amazing Italian place), and I'm filling time flipping through the new issue of CCM mag, and there's this piece on Mat Kearney where he says one time he opened for Living Sacrifice! Rad! And in related news, with my attendance of Cornerstone Festival 2005 confirmed, I'll now commence agitating for a Living Sac reunion show at said festival. Who's with me??
The night before last I finally - FINALLY - transcribed interviews with Comeback Kid guitarist Jeremy Hiebert(hilarious dude) and Dan Weyandt, vocalist for the legendary Zao. Expect those within the next two or three days, depending on when I can get them up.
A whole wack of news concerning bands from the now-kinda-defunct Indie Vision roster, done, as we like it here, in bullet form:
- Pennylane have a video for 'Riverside Waiting' up over here; the band recently did two shows in their native Hawaii with the likes of New Found Glory, Rise Against and Over It. Good company.
- Next In Line(go scope out our review of Traffic right here!) are still playing around San Diego, and word has it a possible label deal might coming down the pipe. No one deserves it more. What a great band.
- Josiah, aside from bringing the metal mayhem, are also being forced to change their name by some UK band with the same one - hence, a name change is in the offing. Still a good band.
- Joey's Loss, which the email here says 'everyone knows', but I certainly did not, broke up in November. Frig!
Band Name of the Day: Triumph of Gnomes!!
Pluto Records has signed southern Cal's Divide the Day. Check it: "Their sound could be described as an innovative mix of hardcore and punk rock that's danceable, yet heavy and engaging." Well, all righty then. A debut full-length will hit this summer, and you can pick up the EP Vegas, Baby, Vegas over here. Oh, and their website is easily accessible - right over here, in fact.
In other Pluto news, Horse the Band will be touring with Circle Takes The Square and Number Twelve Looks Like You towards the middle portion of 2005, and preceding that they'll be recording the followup to 2003's R. Borlax, a complete mess of spazzy keyboards, guitar and demented screaming. What an awesome band.
New Anberlin track is up over here. Their new album comes out February 1st, and you all should be rampaging through the stores finding and buying it.
Some news concerning local punk band Forty Cent Fix, whose sticker proudly adorns my wallet, not that it has any bearing on the situation: the band's been asked to open for Calgary vets Belvedere(a band whose sound FCF has taken elements from, to be sure) in Kingston, Ontario, March 1st. Place called the Iron Horse. Never been there, but that show will rock. Thanks to Samantha for that little tidbit.
Wanna see something rad that every local 'zine should think about shamelessly copying? I've never seen this done before: check this here out and go to the little calendar on the lower right side of the site, and then run your cursor over the various dates in yellow - to see what shows are on that day! Awesome. As if Australia is getting Terror and Comeback Kid and we're getting squat.
You know who's a good Australian band that my boy Ryan won't quit raving about? I Killed The Prom Queen. Yes.
Oh, and to rub salt in the wound, Madball are also gonna be Down Under:
Tue Feb 15 White Sands Hotel, Perth
Wed Feb 16 Uni Bar, Adelaide Lic / All Ages
Thur Feb 17 Corner, Melbourne
Fri Feb 18 The Rev, Brisbane
Sat Feb 19 Manning Bar – Sydney Uni, Sydney Lic / All Ages
Sun Feb 20 Cambridge, Newcastle
Stupid lack of shows around here!
...however, the first nine days of March will be epic. Check it: the 3rd in Montreal - Underoath and Killswitch Engage, along with three others. The 8th in Ottawa - Unearth and Norma Jean, among others, and the 9th also in Ottawa - Rise Against and Belvedere! Legendary.
An interesting email arrived from the fellas in Lucerin Blue, the most salient point being a new song they've slapped online over here called 'Photograph Of A Crime Scene' - sounds pretty good for an 'early demo', as they refer to it. The new album, The Dying Words of A Failed Artist, should be out mid-spring.
I found a link to a minute-long clip of some new stuff from Soilwork, but since it sounds exactly like everything else they've released, I'm not gonna bother mentioning it here. If you're that hardcore a fan, you'll find it somewhere anyway.
If you're the wealthy sort, or just looking for information, or not wealthy and still wanting to help, the Canadian Red Cross needs you. So do over a hundred thousand families in southeast Asia. Prayers, finances, more prayers. Do it. The death toll is 156,000 and rising.
Hilarious, but true: Motley Crue are once again a functional rock band, and touring Canada. This has all the information, including when in Canada and where - Ottawa is among the stops! - as well as the new greatest-hits album Crue are pushing. I still can't get over this.
Switchfoot have upwards of forty new songs written for their next album, which will begin the recording process in...well, how 'bout that? They're in the studio right as you read these very words. Creeeepy. [Relevant]
Kudos to punknews, who've allegedly branched out, creating PunkNews Records. My nonexistent project Feels Like Tuna will be their first release. Not. [punktastic]
This is a review of the new Brandtson offering, Send Us A Signal, and before you read it, know this: I bought their first or second or third album, Letterbox, with my Christmas money on a hunch, and I was pretty disappointed. I wish Myk Porter would bring back Six Feet Deep - one of the first hardcore bands I ever heard in my life. Hopefully Brandtson have improved with time.
Someone, I'm not gonna say who, but someone, as I see here in front of me, has compared Park's No Signal album with MxPx. What? That's lunacy. Two great bands, zero similarities aside from both being made up entirely of white people.
