We've been remiss in not really mentioning this until the proverbial last minute, but tomorrow night(April 1st) is the Ottawa Dance Music Community(DMC) Championships, featuring breakers, MCs and a rumoured two-hour set by Ohio DJ Rjd2. It's twenty bones in advance, and expect to pay up to thirty at the door of the Capital Music Hall(221 Rideau St. downtown) - if there are still tickets at the door, that is. Oh, and while you're at it, get your ticket to the Living Legends/J-Live/Pigeon John blowout happening April 8th at Babylon. Eighteen bucks in advance at a number of places around downtown.
In a similar vein, hiphop indie princes Illect Recordings have given notice that they'll be indulging a collective jonesing for electronic music with a new subsidiary called - duh - Illectronica. We are intrigued. For now, some of the best rap in existence can be found at the Illect website, so get moving.
Extreme music legends Living Sacrifice have returned - sort of. Their best-of(read: label contract fulfillment) album is called In Memoriam; it came out Tuesday, and it's got some new material recorded a couple months ago that's so fresh I wanna die. Okay, not really. Anyway, the band has a new website up to go with the new record, and the Band Bio is the best history of LS I've read anywhere(I'm thinking founding member Bruce Fitzhugh wrote it). Check out all the metal goodness.
I was paging through some magazines at Chapters last week, just killing time, you know, and here are some point-form notes from the various publications:
- Weezer and The Pixies are touring later this year
- My Chemical Romance and Offspring are headlining the 2005 Warped Tour, while, interestingly, the original lineup of Anthrax will headline the metal counterpart: Ozzfest
- The Black Crowes are back together!!
- Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon will star as Johnny Cash and his wife June Carter Cash in a biopic called Walk The Line, in theatres next winter
That's it for now. We're going to bed.
Oh, and sweetdisaster's Big Cheese is moving Thursday, so keep him in your thoughts/prayers.
Hey, kids, we've passed thirty thousand hits for the month of March - thanks to all of you(or maybe ten of my friends who are repeatedly refreshing their monitors). Not as many as February(over fify thousand!), but amazing nonetheless considering what we're dealing with. Thanks.
Two great albums come out today, March 29th: Mae's sophomore effort The Everglow(three new tracks are up over here) and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia wunderkind Matt Mays and his band El Torpedo release their second effort(the first Mays record featuring El Torpedo; his first was a singer-songwriterish acoustic deal). Ordinarily, I'd not have mentioned this, but last night at Zaphod's here in Ottawa, Mays introduced me and presumably others to his brand of '70s-steeped rock and roll Americana, and the rock was had.
Whoa: Symphony In Peril vocalist Shawn Jonas has suddenly left the band. This just after their second album The Whore's Trophy was released to critical acclaim as a step up from their debut(Memoirs And Lost Pictures). Jonas has posted a note on the web explaining his departure over here. This sucks; they're a good band. [hxc]
A band that our boy Brian loves, Into The Moat, is taking a favourite of mine out on the road this summer: Quebec's A Perfect Murder are hitting the tour trail with ITM and Soilent Green.
Oh man: more new material from The Agony Scene; this song is called 'Prey'. The metal is almost too much for me. Their April 19th show here in Ottawa will be legendary.
MC John Reuben's fourth(fourth already!) album The Boy Vs. The Cynic will be out June 21st; the album features production throughout by Reu himself as well as an appearance by Relient K singer Matt Thiessen('Nuisance'), and to hype the CD there'll be a big ol' tour featuring the man himself opening for Thousand Foot Krutch and Pillar. [cmcentral]
Hey, some news from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI(both my parents matriculated there...learning, no doubt, words like 'matriculate'): there'll be a big Festival of Faith and Music event on campus in like two days(April 1st and 2nd), featuring appearances from the likes of Dave Bazan from Pedro the Lion, Sufjan Stevens, Bill Mallonee and tons more. This here link has all the details. [buzzgrinder]
Wheeeeee! MxPx's new album Panic will be in stores June 12th, and I'll buy it like I have every MxPx album in the last decade. C'mon, admit it: everyone loves them.
Toronto's Jersey have called it a day; having lasted nine years is pretty impressive for any band, really. [punknews]
My good chum ol' pal Jared, with whom I had a debate about the merits of the ubiquitous SUV, emailed me this Dave Barry excerpt from a few years ago; I'm a Barry acolyte of long standing, and after I finished howling within the first paragraph, I decided that against all common sense and copyright laws, I'd reprint it here. If someone has a problem with it, email me, but I bet no one does. That's the best thing about running a tiny magazine: no one cares.
"If there's one thing this nation needs, it's bigger cars. That's why I'm excited that Ford is coming out with a new mound o' metal that will offer consumers even more total road-squatting mass than the current leader in the humongous-car category, the popular Chevrolet Suburban Subdivision -- the first passenger automobile designed to be, right off the assembly line, visible from the moon.
I don't know what the new Ford will be called. Probably something like the 'Ford Untamed Wilderness Adventure.' In the TV commercials, it will be shown splashing through rivers, charging up rocky mountainsides, swinging on vines, diving off cliffs, racing through the surf and fighting giant sharks hundreds of feet beneath the ocean surface - all the daredevil things that cars do in Sport Utility Vehicle Commercial World, where nobody ever drives on an actual road.
"In fact, the interstate highways in Sport Utility Vehicle Commercial World, having been abandoned by humans, are teeming with deer, squirrels, birds and other wildlife species that have fled from the forest to avoid being run over by nature-seekers in multi-ton vehicles barreling through the underbrush at 50 mph.
"In the real world, of course, nobody drives Sport Utility Vehicles in the forest, because when you have paid upward of $40,000 for a transportation investment, the last thing you want is squirrels pooping on it. No, if you want a practical off-road vehicle, you get yourself a 1973 American Motors Gremlin, which combines the advantage of not being worth worrying about with the advantage of being so ugly that poisonous snakes flee it in terror.
"In the real world, what people mainly do with their Sport Utility Vehicles, as far as I can tell, is try to maneuver them into and out of parking spaces. I base this statement on my local supermarket, where many of the upscale patrons drive Chevrolet Subdivisions. I've noticed that these people often purchase just a couple of items - maybe a bottle of diet water and a two-ounce package of low-fat dried carrot shreds -- which they put into the back of their Subdivisions, which have approximately the same cargo capacity, in cubic feet, as Finland. This means there is plenty of room left over back there in case, on the way home, these people decide to pick up something else, such as a herd of bison.
"Then comes the scary part: getting the Subdivision out of the parking space. This is a challenge, because the driver apparently cannot, while sitting in the driver's seat, see all the way to either end of the vehicle. I drive a compact car, and on a number of occasions I have found myself trapped behind a Subdivision backing directly toward me, its massive metal butt looming high over my head, making me feel like a Tokyo pedestrian looking up at Godzilla.
"I've tried honking my horn, but the Subdivision drivers can't hear me, because they're always talking on cellular phones the size of Chiclets(''The Bigger Your Car, The Smaller Your Phone,'' that is their motto). I don't know who they're talking to. Maybe they're negotiating with their bison suppliers. Or maybe they're trying to contact somebody in the same area code as the rear ends of their cars, so they can find out what's going on back there. All I know is, I'm thinking of carrying marine flares, so I can fire them into the air as a warning to Subdivision drivers that they're about to run me over. Although frankly I'm not sure they'd care if they did.
"A big reason they bought a Sport Utility Vehicle is ''safety,'' in the sense of, "you, personally, will be safe, although every now and then you may have to clean the remains of other motorists out of your wheel wells.''
"Anyway, now we have the new Ford, which will be even larger than the Subdivision, which I imagine means it will have separate decks for the various classes of passengers, and possibly, way up in front by the hood ornament, Leonardo DiCaprio showing Kate Winslet how to fly. I can't wait until one of these babies wheels into my supermarket parking lot. Other motorists and pedestrians will try to flee in terror, but they'll be sucked in by the Ford's powerful gravitational field and become stuck to its massive sides like so many refrigerator magnets. They won't be noticed, however, by the Ford's driver, who will be busy whacking at the side of his or her head, trying to dislodge his or her new cell phone, which is the size of a single grain of rice and has fallen deep into his or her ear canal.
"And it will not stop there. This is America, darn it, and Chevrolet is not about to just sit by and watch Ford walk away with the coveted title of Least Sane Motor Vehicle. No, cars will keep getting bigger: I see a time, not too far from now, when upscale suburbanites will haul their overdue movies back to the video-rental store in full-size, 18-wheel tractor-trailers with names like The Vagabond. It will be a proud time for all Americans, a time for us to cheer for our country. We should cheer loud, because we'll be hard to hear, inside the wheel wells."
Classic. Dave Barry's official website is over here!
Essential Listening for today(haven't done one of these in a while) is Thornhill, Ontario band Courtesy Blush and their stellar album Sweet Modern Fairy Tales(2004). This band are already veterans of European touring(another Euro jaunt is scheduled for May, according to their website), and through a masterful amalgam of musical styling(think the amazing vocals of Dead Poetic but with more harmonies, the breakdowns and smooth production of From Autumn to Ashes and the poppy guitar patterns of Mae smashed into one Bionic Super Rock Band), they have won me over for months now. Check out the song 'The Video Is A Tightly-Kept Secret' and tell me you don't swoon for this. CB recently played Canadian Music Week in Toronto as part of the Bad Samaritan Records showcase as part of what appears to be their rise to world-takeover status. Great band.
Phenomenal singer-songwriter Derek Webb is headlining a month-long tour with his wife, Sandra McCracken and Steven Delopolous(Burlap to Cashmere) as opening acts; any of their websites will have the itinerary, and I just wanna say how sad I am that they'll never ever come to Canada. [renown]
...then again, slam poet Bradley Hathaway just did a mini-tour here in Ontario. So I guess anything's possible.
I really like Ion Dissonance, and so it follows, then, that this is good news: they've signed with rising metal-ish label Abacus Recordings, who'll release their label debut this summer, produced by Pierre Remillard(Cryptopsy). Yay Quebecois shredding metal attack!! [hxc]
Hey, kids, if you think you missed Bane and Comeback Kid on their current tour, check out these added dates!
3 28 West Hollywood, CA - Troubadour
3 29 Bakersfield, CA - Jerry's Pizza
3 30 Henderson, NV - Roadhouse Casino
3 31 Fresno, CA - Big Game Studios
4 01 San Francisco, CA - Pound SF
4 02 Portland, OR - Davey Jones Locker
4 03 Seattle, WA - El Corazon
4 04 Moscow, ID - Sub Ballroom
4 05 Salt Lake City, UT - Club Sound
4 06 Denver, CO - Rock Island
4 07 Kansas City, MO - El Torreon
4 08 Omaha, NE - Sokol Underground
4 09 Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock
4 10 Arlington Heights, IL - Knights Of Columbus
Two killer URLs have been reported to us in the last twenty-four hours.
One is from the resoundingly beautiful Kayla: the most amazing band EVER(they're called The Sound of Animals Fighting).
The other is from longtime source DJ Omnifik, a stellar web comic called Wigu, by artist/writer Jeff Rowland. High-larious, and it's right over here. Read what you see and just keep hitting 'next comic' to progress through the story. Rad stuff.
Hey, I just had an entry deleted thanks to some hotshot engineer's humour("Hey, if the sucker hits this and this key somehow, let's have the computer shut down!" "Yeah, that's hilarious!!"), so we'll start over.
hardcorechristian has made my day, announcing that Terror, Comeback Kid, Modern Life Is War and the mighty Sinai Beach are doing a big ol' tour that includes Ottawa(May 13th at Babylon). I've waited three years to see Sinai Beach, and with a bunch of songs from their upcoming second record sure to be played, this will be a beast. The entire itinerary thus far can be found over here.
A couple years ago Future Destination Records sent me this album called Plays In Stereo by a band called The Redemption Song. I never actually reviewed the album, making me rather a thief(Matthew, if you're reading this, I'm sorry; I still have the album), but the GOOD news is that TRS have now signed to Strike First Records, meaning an EP or maybe even a full-length will soon follow. Check out the band's website over here; they're good lads, so support.
Took a listen to the new album from Subseven today at my Friendly Local Christian Retailer today; sounded okay. Nothing wildly original or boundary-expanding, but then, the Christian Contemporary market rarely engages in such things. I liked what I heard. The album's called Free To Conquer.
Speaking of conquering(what a segue!), a dude who put out a tremendous record called More Than Conquerors in 1999 with Dogwood has now finished production on the new album from The Beautiful Mistake; former Dogwood guitarist Sean O'Donnell has overseen the making of what's sure to be another shiny emo hit. Unless it truly blows my mind, I think I'll pass.
Indie heros Hum are rumoured to be maybe possibly not-for-sure-but-discussing-it getting together to record a song called 'Inklings', a never-recorded tune. I liked Hum, personally. [aversion]
Boston hardcore legends Bane have posted a new song called 'Pot Committed' from their quickly-approaching new record The Note(out May 17th). Bassist Pete Chilton created the artwork you'll see on the left-hand side when you go listen to the song. If anyone out there is like me, watching these guys tear it up headlining their tour with Comeback Kid makes you more and more excited about this. [punktastic]
Guns at a rap show? Naaaah...okay, yeah: Nas was whisked offstage pronto when gunfire broke out at a show at London's Brixton Academy Monday. No one was injured, so far as we can deduce. [Relevant]
...some followup on that story from chartattack: it took the cops half an hour to get to the venue, and it's amazing how someone was able to smuggle a weapon into this place considering the ONE HUNDRED SECURITY GUARDS with metal detectors. Insane.
I saw massively-hyped English band Doves on Leno last night and I liked what I heard. Just an observation.
Hey, I found the first review I've seen of the new Copeland album over here. I can't wait to hear In Motion in its entirety.
Relevant magazine is always top-notch, and Orlando's finest have outdone themselves with their current issue: 77 Artists That Will Matter in 2005. On the cover is rapidly-rising trio Mute Math(featuring singer Paul Meany, formerly of Earthsuit), and there are featurettes on Thrice, The Shins, Thousand Foot Krutch and tons more, a feature piece on Mae written by Project 86's Andrew Schwab(the boy can write), and news that Kanye West's next album will be called Late Registration, due any time now. Oh, and Outkast are doing another album that's apparently a return to their roots. Does that mean 'Mrs. Jackson'-roots, or Atlanta-dirty-south-circa-1994 roots? I hope for the latter.
The Hillsong: United band is touring Canada in May; the 24th will see them here in Ottawa at Bethel Pentecostal in the west end. A freewill offering will be set up in lieu of admission. I'm excited.
In what I think is a first, Wayne Gretzky has turned down an offer to be the general manager of Canada's entry at the World Hockey Championships(April 30th-May 15th); his mother Phyllis is battling cancer at the family home in Brantford, Ontario. This means that Vancouver Canucks exec Steve Tambellini will serve as GM with Detroit's Ken Holland as his assistant. Canada will field our usual killer team(minus a few high-profile exceptions), but without the Gretzky/Kevin Lowe combination, will we go all the way again?
I don't really care that much, to be honest. I just report the news. And this concludes our sports segment.
Interesting: carmaker Toyota is launching a record label. A real-deal label. [buzzgrinder]
"Yo! True-blue hardcore!" Hatebreed will record their third major-label effort and fifth album overall in May/June. Expect it in stores in the fall. [theprp
Some more information on the situation with New York City's CBGB's, rumoured to be shutting down imminently after thirty-two years in business, has surfaced; apparently Dallas Mavericks owner/all-around celebrity 'benefactor' Mark Cuban wants to help save the club. [punknews]
If you don't care about industry news, skip on, but I'm interested: Lumberjack Distribution has bought out Mordam Records resulting in the creation of the Lumberjack Mordan Music Group, ie stranglehold/monopoly on distro in the underground. The list of labels handled by this new entity is far too long to list, but a good bet is that at least sixty percent of the CDs you own, these guys are responsible for putting them in the stores.
Check out a song called 'Rise Or Die' over here from Born From Pain, an absolute beast of a metal band from the Netherlands; the track is taken from their upcoming Metal Blade Records album In Love With The End. Heeeeavy. [pastepunk]
Oh, just another reason Jordan and the pastepunk crew will rule us all: their Album of the Day a few days ago was Raised Fist's Ignoring the Guidelines. SWEET.
Facedown Records has signed a European distribution deal. This means that henceforth most of their albums' release dates overseas will be pretty darn close to the US release dates. More exposure = more awesomeness. Congratulations to Jason and his peoples.
Tomorrow, March 22nd, sees the appearance of two classic Converge reissues: Petitioning the Empty Sky and When Forever Comes Crashing have retained their appeal through the years and Equal Vision has done us all a favour and redone them all shiny-like.
Hey, good news for fans of middle-of-the-road, predictable emo-core: Funeral For A Friend's new album will be called Hours. Sadly, we don't know when it will be coming out. You can probably already find it on the internet anyway. [absolutepunk]
It looks like the dream is over for Boysetsfire. In a statement you can read over here, the band explains how they've left their management company and Wind-Up Records(good), and how they simply wanna release their new album and get on with it. The band's new website is over here, and I personally hope they've gone back to the After the Eulogy era of songwriting. [saveyourscene]
Speaking of bands leaving labels, Blindside has left Elektra Records, who put out Silence and About A Burning Fire in the last few years, and are toying with releasing their next album on their own. Ooooh, and according to their website, May 10th will see a reissue of their first two albums from the Solid State Records era, Blindside and A Thought Crushed My Mind("I'm a vampire!!"...sorry); both will have four new songs on them as well as new artwork by vocalist Christian Lindskog. I'm pretty stoked. [indievisionmusic]
Two of current Christian music's brightest hopes, Mat Kearney and Mutemath(rad band), are doing a fifty-city tour of the You-nited States, commencing March 31st in Dallas. If you're down to go, visit matkearney.com or mutemath.com. [renown]
Attention, fans of Sparta and/or The Mars Volta: This Station Is Non-Operational is the title of a new At The Drive-In anthology coming out May 24th on Fearless Records. I'm not gonna bother with the track listing, because this band escaped my attention - though I do dig Sparta. [theprp]
April 1st-2nd in Harrisburg, Virginia(James Madison Univ.) will see the 2005 edition of the Macrock Festival, featuring bands like mewithoutYou, a reunited Spitfire(AWESOME!), a Refused cover band(?), An Albatross, Appleseed Cast, Misery Index, The Red Chord and loads more. All the information is over here. [punknews]
My ancestral homeland, the Netherlands, is playing host to the Arnhem Hardcore Meeting March 26th. The lineup is ridiculous; check out what's going on over here if you're reading this in the Motherland.
Afternoon kids. I have The Used's 'All That I've Got' stuck in my head(catchy tune, you have to admit), and it reminded me that MusiquePlus in Montreal has been rebroadcasting footage and interviews from the Taste of Chaos tour stop in MTL a couple weeks ago(I was there so I'm automatically rad), and it stopped me in my tracks to realize that listening to Used vocalist Bert McCracken's voice and speech, I was reminded of this guy. Uncanny resemblance. Could this be the second coming?
I found the first review I've read of Sev Statik's new project Slow Burn - too bad the review is apparently about his OLD album, Speak Life. Meh. The point is made. Hiphop forever, baby. Check it out.
The Showdown are metal. The Showdown are from Tennessee. The Showdown's debut album A Chorus of Obliteration was produced by Bruce Fitzhugh of Living Sacrifice. And The Showdown are getting some mad love from the kids at lambgoat dot com. I gotta get this album.
Confirmed Warped Tour stops that the Dillinger Escape Plan will be destroying:
July 26th Buffalo, NY - Darien Lakes PAC
July 28th Quebec, QC - Colisee Pepsi Parking Lot
July 29th Montreal, QC - TBA
July 30th Barrie, ON - Molson Park
July 31st Detroit, MI - Pontiac Silverdome
August 01st Pittsburgh, PA - Post Gazette Pavilion
[theprp]
Out of sheer boredom, I found the greatest website in the known universe. Your day just improved.
Today I woke up to discover my cellphone had been cut off. That's what happens when you get a couple hundred bucks in the hole to the provider and try to weasel out of it. So anyone who has that number, don't bother using it for the time being. It'll come back sometime.
Dude, remember Candlebox?? I do! I remember begging my dad for a few bucks to buy their debut album like ten years ago! Anyway, this casualty of the Seattle rock wars of the '90s have now yielded this new band called redlightmusic, featuring Candlebox guitarist Peter Klett(the guy who didn't have always have the backwards baseball cap on - that was the singer). The songs found over here bear a distinct resemblance to Thornley, former Big Wreck singer Ian Thornley's self-titled project. I like it okay.
From the good folks at onegoldenspoon(my alma mater, as it were) comes word that Quebec tech-metal beasts Ion Dissonance(what a great name) are busily writing their next opus. Expect to be thoroughly destroyed. Meantime, aside from a nationwide Canadian tour with Premonitions of War and Despised Icon(also from Quebec), ID are gonna do a "full-scale tour" in the States with On Broken Wings(rad band!), From A Second Storey Window and Reflux:
Jun. 13 Lancaster CA @ TBA
Jun. 15 Hollywood CA @ TBA
Jun. 16 San Diego CA @ TBA
Jun. 17 Anaheim CA @ TBA
Jun. 18 South Gate CA @ TBA
Jun. 23 Lubbock TX @ TBA
Jun. 28 Memphis TN @ The Complex
Lujo Records down in Louisiana has signed Baby Teeth, out of Chicago, who will perform on WGN's morning show next week(March 23rd). WGN, for the baseball fans among you, is the home of the Chicago Cubs. Go Cubbies! Oh, and another Lujo band called Ateriavia(weird name) showed up at my house last week...well, their album did...shut up! Anyway, they're pretty good.
The new record from Norway's Extol is getting some love from the kids at pastepunk, who call it "like Dredg with titanic guitar riffs." Never heard Dredg in my life, but as someone who got into Extol years ago with the Undeceived album, I can assure you this band kills. The new record is due out May 3rd on Century Media.
Family Guy rules!! [absolutepunk]
Hilarious Comeback Kid interview over here. Some iffy language and very iffy discussion is present, for those kiddies reading whose parents might disapprove, but there are some really good points to be had.
It's official: the Totally Badical tour featuring Underoath, The Chariot and more stops in Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City(the QC show is at L'Anti, where Is Grace Enough played last weekend to a very sparse crowd - you can bet THIS tour will pack that place to the walls). No Ottawa show, so the locals better get their road trip on. The entire itineray can be found over here.
Saosin have signed with Capitol Records, and from here their career can only devolve. "Yesterday we closed the deal and have signed to Capitol Records!" exulted guitarist Justin Shekoski. If they meet the same fate as Squad 5-0, they're in trouble, ie career suicide.
According to aversion, The Suicide Machines' new album will be out this summer. I'm pretty stoked.
I've been a very longtime fan of California band Stavesacre, but having not really heard much material from them since 1999's Speakeasy, I was at a loss as to where they're at now as people and as a band - until I stumbled upon this interview with bassist Dirk Lemmenes, done by The Union Rag, a 'zine I'd never heard of but will now certainly pay attention to. [hardcorechristian]
Yes, yes, Project 86 are recording a new album with GGGarth producing; I'm excited, because I like Project. However, Sir Jorge at hardcorechristian does not, and had this to say: "Project 86 will enter the studio April 18th with producer GGGarth(Rage Against the Machine and other idiot bands). While this is good for some, I know at least one other person(myself included) that wants to sock [Project frontman]Andrew Schwab in the face with a brick. But until then, expect a new disc from the Project." Hilarious. This kid is no-holds-barred.
Hey, this is awesome: The Fullblast(Burlington, ON lads) came out and did a show with us in Quebec last Saturday; I didn't even know they were on the bill til we got to the venue, and they killed as expected, and now word is out that they won some Alternative Press/Mountain Dew contest and will be playing SXSW down in Texas alongside Hawthorne Heights, The Starting Line and more. Rock ON! The band is currently out on Canada's east coast with Alexisonfire and Rise Against. Not too shabby. [chartattack]
I haven't paid attention to them in years, but Pearl Jam say their next record(the followup to 2002's Riot Act) could be out as early as this summer. [Relevant]
My ex-girlfriend's dad would love to see this: The Lord of the Rings will make its debut as a theatrical stage production next year in Toronto. March 2006 will see the commencement of something I bet will be huge.
U2 and others were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this week. Never heard much of The Pretenders, myself, but we all know how I love U2.
In a remarkable achievement, Norma Jean's new one O God, The Aftermath, sold more than 20,000 copies in its first week, making its debut at #62 on the Billboard Top 100. How 'BOUT that? It's a friggin' amazing-sounding record. [hxc]
DJ Andy Hunter recently had quite the gig: spinning for a ton of high-tech and computer-ish types at a Microsoft-sponsored party in France. He's rad, so he deserves it. Full story over here.
Longtime favourites(speaking solely for myself) Thousand Foot Krutch will drop their new album The Art of Breaking July 19th on Tooth & Nail; the record's produced by Arnold Lanni(Finger Eleven, Our Lady Peace), and while I know it will sound amazing sonically, I really hope TFK haven't given themselves over to depraved radio rock. That would be tragic. Please don't have that happen. Please.
It's old news, but it's still weird to see former Korn guitarist Brian Welch's name splashed all over Christian websites. Exceedingly odd. And also odd is this story, wherein Welch is apparently attempting to save 50 Cent. I quote: ""The Big Guy speaks through me a lot when I write, and I have a song for 50 Cent I wrote in the Holy Land," says Welch. "I feel like it's a personal letter to 50 from God, so I'm going to give it to him personally and see what his reaction is. If it's a positive reaction and he's willing to talk to me, then I'm not gonna release it, but if the reaction is not positive, I'm going to share it with the world." End quote. Is this guy for real? I don't know if I buy this. Furthering my weird feelings is this secondary quote: "Welch's solo CD is close to being completed, and he adds that he's just finished one instrumental track called 'A Letter to Dimebag', which he wrote in tribute to the late guitar legend. "It's a guitar-solo instrumental," he explained. "I wrote it for Dimebag because he always used to tell Munky and I to put guitar solos in Korn's music." Does this not, to anyone out there, smack of button-pushing? I don't GET it.
New Coldplay comes out June 7th. Don't care even a little bit. [buzzgrinder, though, did provide that info]
Some OzzFest 2005 news, i.e. main stage lineup, second(Hot Topic - disgusting!) stage lineup, and itinerary to date:
Black Sabbath
Iron Maiden
Killswitch Engage
Shadows Fall
Black Label Society
----------------------
Rob Zombie
As I Lay Dying
Mastodon
A Dozen Furies
The Haunted
In Flames
Arch Enemy
The Black Dahlia Murder
Bury Your Dead
It Dies Today
Soilwork
Trivium
------------------------------
7/15 Boston, MA Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts
7/17 Hartford, CT CTNOW.com Meadows Music Centre
7/19 Camden, NJ Tweeter Center at the Waterfront
7/21 Darrien Center, NY Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
7/23 Burgettstown, PA Post Gazette Pavilion
7/24 Bristow, VA Nissan Pavilion
7/26 Homdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center
7/30 Tinley Park, IL Tweeter Center Chicago
7/31 Noblesville, IN Verizon Wireless Music Center
8/2 Columbus, OH Germain Amphitheater
8/4 Clarkston, MI DTE Energy Music Theatre
8/6 East Troy, WI Alpine Valley Music Theatre
8/7 Somerset, WI Float-Rite Amphitheatre
8/11 Auburn, WA White River Amphitheatre
8/13 Mountain View, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre
8/14 Marysville, CA Sleep Train Amphitheatre
8/16 West Valley City, UT USANA Amphitheatre
8/18 Phoenix, AZ Cricket Pavilion
8/20 San Bernardino, CA Hyundai Pavilion at Glen Helen
8/21 Antioch, TN Starwood Amphitheatre
8/23 Albuquerque, NM Journal Pavilion
8/25 Dallas, TX Smirnoff Music Center
8/27 Woodlands, TX Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
8/28 Selma, TX Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
9/2 Charlotte, NC Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
9/4 West Palm Beach, FL Sound Advice Amphitheatre
These are all just the beginnings, I would assume. Note the lack of Canadian shows thus far. And it's good to see our boys As I Lay Dying up there rocking out. [lambgoat]
Picked up a Victory Records sampler from a promoter in Quebec City last weekend(whassup Karl?) and it's a song each from eleven different bands. Standouts include the tracks from Comeback Kid(duh), The Black Maria, Premonitions of War, Between the Buried and Me and...uh...can't remember who else. Fun mix though. Good for the work commute.
Good LORD: Stretch Arm Strong have decided that very 'now', 'it', 'scene' producer James Wisner...*cough*ahemEMO*cough*...will produce their new major-label debut. They'll start April 23rd. And I for one don't know if I like where this is going. What's a guy who's worked with Further Seems Forever and Dashboard Confessional got to do with hardcore? [theprp]
Geez, MORE from Brian Welch: now he and born-again actor Stephen Baldwin are gonna build some skate parks! Does the publicity ever end??
Yo, pay attention if you're near any of these:
April 21st Danbury, CT - The Empress
April 22nd Portland, ME - The Station
April 23rd Providence, RI - The Living Room
April 24th Farmingdale, NY - The Downtown
Boysetsfire are gonna be playing those places along with The Sleeping(rad band from Long Island!) and A Wilhelm Scream. Do it up.
From a conversation I'm having with my lovely friend Laura out in B.C., concerning her take on Simple Plan: "When they first came out, I didn't mind them, but once I heard a couple more singles, I noticed a stark similarity: all they do is b**** about life and how nobody else understands trivial little problems that every d*** person goes through. 'Welcome to my life', please. Welcome to the life of the majority of the friggin' world, kids."
Classic music journalism, off the cuff. Well played.
Two quick things before I have to get to work: firstly, I forgot to give a massive shout-out to Charles and Gino out in St. Marie de Beauce; we stumbled into their tattoo shop Saturday afternoon seeking directions to the venue Is Grace Enough were supposed to loading their stuff into, and it turns out they're radical Christian dudes, and they had Dogwood playing when we walked in. It was a great lift for me personally to run into two like-minded guys in a middle-of-nowhere town. Hope you read this, brothers. Keep the faith. And I wish I remembered the name of the shop - drop me an email and I'll drop you a plug.
Secondly, many thanks to webmaster Brody for finally getting this here website fixed and running smoothly. The man is rad, his wife is rad, and I hope to meet them in person this summer either pre- or post-Cornerstone. Word.
Aight.
We're back from the Quebec mini-tour, and thanks to the kids in St. Hyacinthe, St. Marie de Beauce and Quebec City for coming out to chill with Is Grace Enough and Wheels On The Bus(what up, homeys??). Fun times, rough times, nowhere to sleep, can we sleep on your floor, we need food and where's it coming from, why can't you read a map, who let one go in the van, put the airguns away there's a cop shop across the street, etc etc etc.
Thanks on my part go out to Julia for the place to stay Friday(nice motel room floor!), Shan in QC for putting us up in his kickass place last night, and the band for letting me hang out and have a vacation. Especiall Roach. He cracks me up.
The other day we mentioned '10,000 Questions', a new song from The Juliana Theory that had just gone up at their purevolume site; in addition to the fact that I personally bet the new record will be sick, the song has shot to #1 at purevolume. Already. Two days. Wow. [absolutepunk]
Not that I live there, so I don't really care, but they're all great bands: Mae and mewithoutYou will be supporting Coheed and Cambria on a UK tour in May.
One of the few 'very with-it, scene' bands that I actually like is Matchbook Romance, and there's word now that they're heading to Los Angeles soon to finish work on the followup to their last album, Stories and Alibis. Good.
The dates for Taking Back Sunday's tour with Jimmy Eat World(and some band I've never heard of called The Format) are apparently now set in stone; no Canadian dates save a show in Toronto April 12th, but what interests me(and proves lucky to those living down there): April 25th they're in Tampa, and no Jimmy on the bill - instead, our boys Anberlin are gracing the stage. Word UP. The complete itinerary is over here. Oh, and there're two shows in May as well featuring Green Day.
Alert: new Copeland music up here!! So good.
A dude named Steve Osbourne's gonna produce Thrice's upcoming new album. Who? Good question, but he's worked with U2, Peter Gabriel and Massive Attack, so he's good by me.
If you're anywhere near Jersey, consider yourself lucky, because this just keeps getting bigger.
Today I had my first chance to seriously listen to O God, The Aftermath, the new album from Norma Jean, and kids, I am telling you: SICK. Flikkema(big cheese webdude here at sd.com) isn't quite as sold on it, but I am DOWN with the SICKNESS, people. I'm thirty times infinity angry that I missed them live earlier this week. Frig.
Hawthorne Heights will be releasing a reissue of The Silence In Black And White on May 17th. The new version will have new packaging, a DVD and more. And it will be even more boring.
Sorry. They're technically all right, but they bore me. Next.
I saw this posted on a message board: 'Fan Reports In: "Tonight at the Taste of Chaos show in Toledo, OH, The Used played an encore with the guys of My Chemical Romance. Together they played a cover of David Bowie's 'Under Pressure'." Now, that's terrific, except Queen's Freddie Mercury sang on the original as well(how do you forget or not know that?). I saw this same rendition last week, and I was impressed. Those two bands really nailed it; they've recorded the song as a fundraiser for tsunami-relief efforts over in Asia, and are to be commended.
This space will be quiet til next week; I'm headed out on the road to Quebec for three shows with Is Grace Enough; Brampton's Wheels On The Bus are also gonna be along for the ride. If you're in Ste-Hyacinthe, Ste Marie de Beauce, or Quebec City, c'mon out for the rock.
Peace.
Hey everybody. Good news - at least for those of us here at the ol' SD: for the first time in our admittedly brief history, we've surpassed 200 visits a day, which is far beyond anything I ever expected. Do I know each and every visitor by name? Actually, no, which is pretty dope. So thank you all.
As a reward for your loyalty(if you're into metal, anyway), check out a new track from Living Sacrifice, whose best-of, In Memoriam, comes out later this month. The song is called 'In Christ', and it's enormous. I wonder if I can push for a LS reunion show at Cornerstone this June.
Andrew Jensen, he of the avid Tooth & Nail Records fever(the boy's a large fan, what can we say), has informed me that the new Mae album, entitled The Everglow, will blow everyone's minds. I for one believe him, since it's claimed that the band has gone in a more rock and roll direction from their debut, which was more a Jimmy Eat World kinda thing going on in places. Word.
Interesting interview over here with Gerard Way, frontman for My Chemical Romance, who're going on tour with Green Day in the not-too-distant future(April). It's a good fit. MCR surprised me last week as part of the Taste of Chaos tour - also, I met Gerard backstage and he's a super nice kid; there's a lot less profanity in this interview than there was in MCR's live set. Also, I did not know that the band's bassist is Gerard's brother Mike. How 'bout that. [absolutepunk]
Some good rap feeling news off the top, courtesy of our friends at sphereofhiphop: new albums are now out from Pigeon John(Pigeon John Sings the Blues) and Sev Statik(Slow Burn - and I guarantee this is hot, because Sev is an exceptionally gifted MC); Tunnel Rats crew refugee Macho has an EP coming out March 22nd; and there's a ton of other stuff they dropped on my head via email, so just hit up the website.
A couple of reviews of recent Floodgate Records albums for you, right here and here. The first one's for Yellow Second, featuring ex-Five Iron Frenzy guitarist Scott Kerr on vocals - this is the guy who penned the music for FIF's 1997 signature song 'Every New Day', and as such deserves your respect.
From DJ Omnifik down in the T-dot comes a few tidbits: Notorious B.I.G. died on this day in 1997, Alkaholiks and De La Soul are both playing dates in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal in the next few weeks and Nickelback died in a plane crash...oh wait, he's kidding.
A quick rundown on the money some of our favourite bands get for live shows:
The Juliana Theory - ten grand(all figures US, presumably)
Dashboard Confessional - sixty grand
Mae - seven and a half grand
Simple Plan - between thirty-five and fifty grand
Why am I not a rock star again? [buzzgrinder]
Apparently on this week's edition of MTV's Pimp My Ride(a guilty pleasure to be sure), Mono Vs. Stereo metal monsters The Showdown have a slew of songs on as background music. I've also heard Project 86 and Slick Shoes on this particular show.
Big large metal tour of Canada for the kids: Premonitions of War is taking two Quebec bands(Despised Icon and Ion Dissonance) out on the road.
3/31 Quebec City, QC @ L'Anti
4/01 Montreal, QC @ El Salon
4/02 Oakville, ON @ The Dojo
4/03 Sudbury, ON @ Townehouse Tavern
4/05 Brandon, MB @ East End Community Center
4/06 Regina, SK @ The Exchange
4/07 Edmonton, AB @ New City Likwid Lounge
4/08 Edmonton, AB @ Queen Alex Hall
4/09 Calgary, AB @ Alexandra Center
4/10 Whistler, BC @ Boot Pub
4/11 Vancouver, BC @ The Brickyard
4/12 Victoria, BC @ The Lucky Bar
4/13 Kamloops, BC @ Independent Center
4/14 Calgary, AB @ Brew Brothers Tap House
4/15 Saskatoon, SK @ Walkers
4/16 Winnipeg, MB @ The Albert
4/17 Thunder Bay, ON @ The Apollo
4/18 Timmins, ON @ GV Hotel
4/19 Ste-Catherines, ON @ Red Square Night Club
4/20 London, ON @ The Embassy
4/21 Hamilton, ON @ TBA
4/22 Brampton, ON @ TBA
4/23 Barrie, ON @ TBA
Despised Icon and Ion Dissonance are also here in Ottawa this weekend with Daggers Bearing Notes and another band. The details can be found here. [lambgoat]
I really hope the Sounds of Underground tour hits Ottawa this summer. Doesn't the website look sick??
In another blurring of the lines between genres/scenes, The Dillinger Escape Plan are gonna do some of the Warped tour this year. I probably won't go again. [theprp]
Staind have a new record coming out this year. No one cares.
In opposite news, Poison the Well also have a new album coming, and I'm tres excited!
Cursed are taking Mare(they opened for Isis last year) across Canada:
Cursed have announced their plans to tour throughout Canada with Mare in April/May, the current schedule for the trek shapes up as follows:
April 19th Thunder Bay, ON - The Apollo
April 21st Winnipeg, MB - The Zoo
April 22nd Saskatoon, SK - The Bassment
April 23rd Calgary, AB - HiFi Club
April 24th Whistler, BC - The Boot Pub
April 25th Vancouver, BC - Mesa Luna
April 26th Victoria, BC - Luckybar
April 28th Edmonton, AB - New City Likwid
April 29th Edmonton, AB - QueenAlex Theater
Aprilil 30th Regina, AB - TBA
May 01st Winnipeg, MB - Collective Cabaret (SLFM Fest)
May 03rd Timmins, ON - TBA
May 05th Peterborough, ON - Trasheteria
May 06th Toronto, ON - 360
Note the no-Ottawa policy apparently in effect. *scowl*
Sub Pop collective Iron & Wine are doing some touring, but since I've never heard them before, I'll just mention this date: April 18th they're at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI. My parents both went to school there years ago. And Dave Matthews Band and Project 86 have also played there. So there.
There!
'Red Letter Day' remains a great song: The Get Up Kids are breaking up. R.I.P. 1996-2005. [pastepunk]
This just in: strained neck muscles hurt when you move your head quick. I found that out progressively today at work and playing basketball. Pretty sucky.
This also just in: Stavesacre(I was thinking about taking their '99 album Speakeasy into work tomorrow to ease me through my workday, actually) have released a new EP(Bull Takes Fighter), a Live From Dallas DVD, and have a ton of merch up at their online store. I highly recommend you scoot on over.
I saw a couple of kids wearing Haste the Day gear in Montreal last week, so in that spirit, I thought I'd pass along some coming-album news: the band have done everything but vocals on the new album; the record's expected out June 7th on Solid State Records. And in the meantime, ta da, a tour:
March 12th Columbus, OH - Scarlet and Grey Cafe
March 13th Pittsburgh, PA - Mr. Smalls Theatre
March 14th York, PA - Spart's Den
April 15th Waverly, IA - Wartburg College Players Theatre
April 16th Appleton, WI - Met's House Concert Hall (Edgefest)
April 17th Ft. Wayne, IN - Anchor Community Church (Feat. Kingston Falls, Saints Never Surrender)
April 22nd Worcester, MA - New England Metal and Hardcore Fest
April 23rd Wilmore, KY - Ichthus Farm - Ichthus Festival
May 28th Del Mar, CA - Del Mar Fairgrounds - Spirit West Coast
June 30th Bushnell, IL - Cornerstone Festival
July 01st Bushnell, IL - Cornerstone Festival
Do note the shows at Cornerstone at the end of June/beginning of July. I shall actually be there for the first time in ten years of being in this scene(thanks Ally). [hxc]
I think I'd heard rumours of this a while back, but it's sure official now: the Sounds of Underground Tour is a reality. Check out the bands...oh my good sweet heavens, the bands...Lamb Of God, Clutch, Poison The Well, Opeth, Unearth, From Autumn To Ashes, Chimaira, Gwar, Norma Jean, Every Time I Die, Strapping Young Lad, Throwdown, High On Fire, DevilDriver, All That Remains and A Life Once Lost. And that's just for starters. Madball and Terror will play certain dates, along with The Red Chord and others. Geeeeez. As soon as I find a website for this that works, I'll slap it up here.
Also in Amazing Metal Bands news, As I Lay Dying vocalist Tim Lambesis and our excellent friend Brian at Pluto Records have joined forces to create Clockwork Recordings. The first signing? Life In Pictures. AILD is still scheduled to play here in Ottawa April 9th with Throwdown, All That Remains and Winter Solstice - and that same tour also plays El Salon in Montreal, where I saw some bands last week. That place will NOT be able to handle AILD. No chance.
I was so bored I Googled my own name just for kicks.
The results are in, and here are some of the funniest/best:
1. Evil Eye: note in the first picture the drummer, name of Mike Postma(distinctly not me) - and he also apparently(back in 2000 anyway) liked 311(like me)! Ironic.
2. The Lads: an article I did in fact write about Australian rock band The Lads, March 2002. This was the first item that Google came up with.
3. I'm a technical consultant out in Saint John, New Brunswick. Who knew?
4. Not to mention I'm the School Council Chair at Valley Heights Secondary School in Langton, Ontario.
5. I rememer doing this .hopesfall interview(from 2002) standing outside Club SAW downtown while DJ Omnifik raced around after stealing some girl's hat and telling .hopesfall guitarist Josh Brigham to "take it to America!"
6. This one just about killed me: apparently I've been drumming with the Utah Pipe Band for years and years! I also have a beautiful wife named Stephanie - where'd she come from?
7. And I'm an Arizona Road Racer! Check out who clocked in twentieth place!
8. And a Park Superintendent with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources!
9. This one surprised me: Jason Dodd recently folded up shop at Bandoppler after a long tenure as a 'zinester, magazine editor, print mag founder, etc, and I must have missed, in his Goodbye Letter, his thanks to me...right after MxPx drummer Yuri Ruley. Wow! I'm flattered.
10. ...and did you know I'm the Purchasing Manager for Aztec Industries in Regina, Saskatchewan?
11. Says here, "Mike Postma, superintendent at Turkey Point Provincial Park, said beach water is tested weekly from June to Labour Day at Ontario parks." I said NO such thing!!
Good times.
They actually did it: the powers-that-be have lured U2, easily the world's biggest rock band, to Ottawa for the first time - either ever, or since...1985, depending on who you listen to. I think they were here in '85 when they were still a very young band. They'll be here at the Corel Centre out in Kanata November 25th, 2005. Tickets go on sale March 19th at 10am, and it will be an absolute madhouse. Watch how fast this sells out. Jake Zwiers, somewhere, is real excited. Like, real excited. We love U2, you see.
Weird: this band The Exit that I saw opening for Strike Anywhere a couple of years ago(from New York City, I believe) have signed with Wind-Up Records(home of the thankfully-defunct Creed, Evanescence, 12 Stones and Finger Eleven). Their major-label, as yet untitled, will be out probably this summer, following up Home For An Island(Some Records). [aversion]
Avant-rockers Minus The Bear, straight outta Seattle, have extended their deal with Suicide Squeeze Records(Constantines used to be on that label too, not that it's relevant); the band's next album, as usual produced by band member Matt Bayles, has no release date yet, but here's a tour they're doing if you're in the areas:
April 2 - The Call, Providence, R.I.
April 3 - Axis, Boston
April 4 - Irving Plaza, New York
April 6 - Grog Shop, Cleveland
April 7 - Majestic Theatre, Detroit
April 8 - Logan Square Auditorium, Chicago
April 9 - Mississippi Nights, St Louis
April 11 - The Starlight, Ft Collins, Colo.
April 12 - Club Sound, Salt Lake City
April 15 - El Corazon, Seattle
April 16 - Meow Meow, Portland
April 19, 20 - Roxy Theatre, West Hollywood, Calif.
April 21 - House of Blues, Anaheim, Calif.
...UPDATE: another site has mentioned Minus the Bear's new record as being released August 23rd. We'll see.
I wonder if this will affect his touring: UK rap wunderkind Dizzee Rascal was arrested in his native country after being pulled over and found to be carrying pepper spray(banned in Britain for being a 'projectile weapon'). Rascal is to appear in court April 8th, and while in Montreal last week I saw his name in the 'coming soon' section of the paper, so who knows?
Heard the name a bunch lately, but didn't know the first thing about them until now: ladies and gentlemen, meet Louisville, Kentucky's Emanuel.
I found out what Squad 5-0 are up to these days: touring with Letter Kills, that's what Squad 5-0 are doing these days. Word has it they cuss in a song(oh, horrors!!). [hardcorechristian]
It's official: Weezer's first album since 2002's Maladroit is called Make Believe, due out in May. The first single/video('Beverly Hills') was shot at the Playboy Mansion. Do I care? Not really. [punkhardcore]
CBGB's in NYC closing its doors? That would suck hugely, but with rising rents and increased safety regs in the wake of the Great White tragedy in Rhode Island last year, it could happen. The club's fate will be determined by the end of August.
As the tagline says, "it's hard to find a twentysomething who grew up in the church who, at one point, has not liked the band Bleach." I'm one of them, beeen listening since the band's beginning in 1996, and now, a review of the band's latest and last, Farewell Old Friends. What a great band.
Cable film network IFC has partnered with Green Day to integrate the band's song 'Jesus of Suburbia' into its promotions on- and off-air throughout 2005. All that to say: American Idiot rips. [Relevant]
Death By Stereo, Cult of Luna and Mastodon are touring in May; no show here in Ottawa(I'm hugely surprised...not...with U2 coming, I'm not that destroyed), but there are shows listed in TO and MTL:
May 2 Milwaukee, WI The Rave
May 3 Chicago, IL Bottom Lounge
May 4 Grand Rapids, MI The Intersection
May 5 Detroit, MI Harpo's
May 6 Cleveland, OH Grog Shop
May 7 Albany, NY Continental Club
May 9 Toronto, ON Opera House
May 10 Montreal, QC Spectrum
May 11 Worcester, MA Palladium
May 12 Albany, NY Valentines
May 13 New York City, NY Bowery Ballroom
May 14 Sayreville, NJ Starland Ballroom
May 15 Philadelphia, PA Theatre of Living Arts
May 16 Washington, DC Black Cat
May 18 Charlotte, NC Tremont Music Hall
May 19 Orlando, FL The Social
May 20 St. Petersburg, FL State Theater
May 21 Atlanta, GA The Masquerade
May 22 Nashville, TN Rockettown
May 23 St. Louis, MO Creepy Crawl
May 24 Kansas City ,MO El Torreon
May 25 Denver, CO Rock Island
May 27 Phoenix, AZ Mason Jar
May 28 San Diego, CA Casbah
May 29 West Hollywood, CA Troubadour
May 30 San Francisco, CA Bottom of the Hil
[altpress]
Looks like the Taste of Chaos tour that I caught in Montreal last week has a real long shelf life; UK website punktastic mentioned today that the tour will be in Australia and Japan in October of this year, as well as Germany in November. Bands playing those legs of the tour will be announced shortly.
Not to end on a downer, but our thoughts and prayers go out to bassist Jorge of the Voodoo Glow Skulls, whose newborn baby passed away last week. If it matters all that much to you, the band has cancelled any and all plans in the wake of this tragedy.
Back up in this, fresh from Montreal and the Taste of Chaos tour Thursday, followed in short order by Bane and Comeback Kid ripping El Salon(4388 Saint Laurent) apart Friday. El Salon = amazing atmosphere for hardcore.
Anyway.
Buncha email newsletters to fill you, the lovely readers, in on.
Dallas, Texas MC Sivion(Deepspace 5) will be putting out his debut album as A Solo Artist through Illect Records in late spring/early summer. This puppy'll have production from the likes of Harry Krum(aka Playdough) and Freddie Bruno, both of whom also happen to live in Dallas, not that it matters. Watch for this.
Lucerin Blue are back at it, playing a bunch of shows in the near future, including a date last night with a terrific punk band called Handheld, but that was last night, so too bad. They'll be playing with Ottawa's For the Mathematics March 25th at the Red Square in Ste. Catharines, ON. For more info, just hit up their myspace page. Oh, and their new album - allegedly - will drop in June.
Reminder: the ever-entertaining Pigeon John plays Babylon April 8th, opening for J-Live and the Living Legends crew. It will most assuredly be sick.
Blood & Ink Records have a new website up. Get to it.
Brandon Jones has a vision. An indie vision. And with that horrible, horrible pun comes a plug for his new/old 'zine over at Indie Vision Music, containing news, interviews, and 'ClassicTrax' downloads - if you're an oldschool Christian underground kid, check out what they got: old stuff from Plankeye, Underoath, The Blamed, Philmore, Dear Ephesus, Focal Point...I can't even continue. Just go there. Frequently. I love Brandon. What a dude.
Speaking of Underoath, for those 'Christian fans' who still wanna know if they're sellouts or not: they're not. Regardless of if they're in front of less than a hundred people(like their first time in Ottawa, 2002) or in front of almost ten thousand(the other night in Montreal) they still profess Christ, from the stage, every night, and you can take that however you like. I was there, and I was inspired. Oh, and we also have a great interview with keyboardist Chris Dudley in the can that I conducted at extreme cost to my shoes and pants(hooray for hiking through knee-deep snowdrifts to get back into a building); watch for that sometime(thanks to their tour manager Russ and merch guy Will for making it possible). And they've surpassed two million plays on their purevolume.com site. Impressive.
Guttermouth, No Use For A Name, Voodoo Glow Skulls, 1208, Pulley and more will be on an upcoming Sublime tribute album. I like the sound of that. [onegoldenspoon]
How to tell when your tour has not started well: when two of the three vans involved go belly-up and the remaining band has to play solo the first night. Such was the case with, um, Classic Case(didn't realize the redundancy til after I'd typed it), who played by themselves in Tempe, AZ, while Project 86 and He Is Legend both got their vans fixed. The tour will go on swimmingly. [absolutepunk]
Oooh oooh: the newest from MxPx should be out by summertime if all goes as planned; the band is holed up in studio as you read this with some producer dude who's worked Goo Goo Dolls(like that impresses me...although 1995's A Boy Named Goo IS one of the seminal rock albums for me...sad) and they'll bang out the rock ASAP.
I didn't listen to the first one more than once, and I doubt I'll do it this time either, but New Found Glory are apparently putting out another covers album. What's the point??
Here's a weird tour: sd.com favourites Anberlin are gonna go out later this year with Roses Are Red and...Millencolin? Rad!
Geeeeez: Sum 41 are gonna open for Motley Crue this summer for a while. I couldn't care less, though I do confess to thinking Sum 41 are catchy.
The new record from As I Lay Dying now has a name: Shadows Are Security will be out June 14th. The band'll be here in Ottawa with Throwdown April 9th. [saveyourscene]
A band that surprised/impressed me at Worshipfest last August was Orangeville, ON's Hello Kelly; I got their Modern Day Nostalgia EP from them and really dug it - now they're coming out More Modern Day Nostalgia: three new songs. Their website has all the goods. I love pop rock! [musicrefuge]
I found this while somewhat-aimlessly surfing, and like the GQ article to which we linked a couple weeks ago, it's interesting to people who are still bridging the gap between God and popular music, in its vast array of genres. Read this and see what you think. [rockrebel]
...and taken from the above article, in the comments posted below by random denizens of Earth: "One thing that Christian and mainstream music have in common - the musicians who have real depth to their music don't sell a lot of records." A-greed.
Aaaah, nostalgia: O.C. Supertones trombonist Dan Spencer is interviewed by former HM mag contributor Andy Argyrakis about his band, their tenure, and their graceful bow-out at the end of this year. I, for one, didn't know that the band was almost completely financially destroyed by a scumball manager. Enjoy.]
Finally: thanks to Joanne, Kayla and Ryan, all of whom helped make the Montreal trip this week possible. Good times.
You're now reading the 400th entry we've made into this news column since September 19th of 2003 - so consider yourselves lucky. Just kidding - we consider ourselves blessed beyond measure to have gotten to do this for a year and a half.
I thought I had less time than I did before leaving for Taste of Chaos in Montreal, so since I'm killing time now, here's some news.
God Forbid, Caliban, It Dies Today and Full Blown Chaos
4/01 Montreal, QC Foufounes Electrique
4/02 Toronto, ON El Mocambo
[hxc]
They're really on the rise now: longtime Christian-scene darlings Relient K are going out on tour with Good Charlotte and Simple Plan. This isn't confirmed yet, but I can sure see it happening. [cmcentral]
More touring: FUSE TV down in ye olde America is rumoured to be doing a very large metal-ish tour this summer, featuring the likes of Anthrax, Meshuggah, In Flames, Mastodon and a ton more, including Mudvayne and the legendary Motorhead. Intense. [buzzgrinder]
A band that'll be in Ottawa next weekend, Montreal's Despised Icon, have a new song up over here, from their upcoming Century Media album. Sounds pretty dope. [lambgoat]
And in that vein, I just sold this band's debut album the other day(needed money fast, c'est la vie): a new song from Seventh Star is over here.
Buried Inside: still getting love universally. I've read not one single even somewhat-lukewarm review of their newest, Chronoclast. lambgoat.com weighs in over here, and I want this record bad.
Some Project 86 for the kids(what a great band): they're reuniting with producer GGGarth Richardson for their next album(production starts April 18th). This is the guy who did their masterful '99 album Drawing Black Lines, not only their best but one of THE best in that era, in my superfluous opinion. [theprp]
...in related news, wanna know where GGGarth is as you read this? In his Vancouver, BC studio recording with From Autumn to Ashes. SWEETness.
Go Roadrunner Records: they've signed a band from Israel called Betzefer, and unless you're real in-the-know, you'll wanna hit up their website for more information. Wonder what Israeli extreme music sounds like.
Excellent news: Marathon(go read our interview in the, um, Interviews section) have signed with Reignition Records, who will put out the band's upcoming second album May 31st. It'll be self-titled, and it will rock us all. [punknews]
Wow, I thought tonight in Montreal was a huge show...well, it is, but in Lancaster, PA tonight you'll see Ed Gein, On Broken Wings, The Red Chord and more. That's a show.
Aight. To Montreal I go. Peace.
Greetings, earthlings.
T-minus a couple hours til sweetdisaster hits the road with Ryan and the lovely Kayla, destination Montreal for tonight's Taste of Chaos show featuring The Used, Killswitch Engage, Underoath and several more. Then tomorrow night also in Montreal is Bane with special guests(oh I'm stoked) Comeback Kid. It'll be a road trip for the ages. If you'll be at either show, I'll be wearing a camo hat and a blue Juliana Theory t-shirt. C'mon over and buy me a drink. I mean say hi.
There's a woman in the Ottawa Christian School community, first name Elaine, who's in hospital as you read this with aggressive flesh-eating disease; the prognosis isn't good, and please keep her and her family in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you, on the family's behalf.
This is an MTV report on the church service co-led by ex-Korn guitarist Brian Welch the other day out in the band's hometown of Bakersfield, California. It seems pretty chipper, but...I'm a skeptic, and maybe I doubt my Saviour too much. Yes, I think so. Anyway, here it is. [Relevant]
Basketball tonight pretty much wiped me out - including that GIANT ELBOW OF YOURS, Tyler(just kidding, love you bro) - but since we haven't put anything in here in a while, I wanted to express our thanks for the five thousand plus visits we received in February. Small? Yes. By most standards, but not by ours, and we thank you from the bottom of our little rock and roll hearts.
News ASAP.