New Band Recommendation: House of Atreus. I was listening to this Undecided Records sampler obtained at the Warped Tour and it was a bunch of emo bands and some hardcore-ish bands and then this cute little hiphop-based quirky song by Things In Herds - and House of Atreus absolutely wrecking my sphere with the metal. I haven't been so shocked/disoriented by extreme music since I first heard Training For Utopia on a dark night years ago. Nice.
If you have a myspace page - and if you're reading this, more than likely you do - you're now the property of the same clown that owns FOX TV. Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. has purchased Intermix Media for $770 million in cash(cash!), with Intermix also exercising their option to purchase the forty-seven percent of myspace that they didn't already own. There's a lot more business-speak we could report, but we're still stuck on the image of $770 million in cash. [IVM]
Cash!! Jeez Louise!
Oh, and just so everyone knows, sweetdisaster Big Cheese tried to get myspace.com/sweetdisaster tonight, but it's been taken by some random chick in the LBC. That's Long Beach, California for those who are clueless. Also home to EDL back in the day. But still. I'm ticked.
Not to be outdone by our stellar Underoath interview with keyboardist Chris Dudley(see above...right up there...there you go), Alternative Press is slapping central Florida's finest sextet on the cover of their September 5th issue. Well then. Guess we'll just have to get a U2 interview to stay ahead of the wolf pack. [musicrefuge]
Apparently, the John Travolta flick Be Cool contains a scene in which Travolta's character is talking contract with someone, and in the background a poster or some such can be clearly seen with Anberlin, Emery and Further Seems Forever's names "clearly mentioned". That would be the Tooth & Nail Tour from a couple years ago, for those confused.
Burnt By The Sun aren't dead in the water yet; an almost-entirely-new lineup featuring ex-members of Premonitions of War, Deadwater Drowning and various others has been solidified, with a new EP coming later this year, and they'll be hitting the road shortly. Keep your eyes peeled. I'm glad BBTS aren't dead, even with the departure of drummer Dave Witte. [theprp]
I just read about this Jewish raggae toaster Matisyahu in Paste magazine a couple weeks ago, and now it turns out he's on P.O.D.'s first single 'Roots In Stereo', taken from their upcoming album Testify. As well, the album's been bumped back to December 6th by Atlantic, thereby making it the ideal Christmas present for your loved ones. Or not, depending on if they still think Payable makes relevant music.
Speaking of bands like Burnt By The Sun that were AWOL, Delaware's Boysetsfire are holed up in a studio somewhere recording their next work. No label confirmed yet. I think they should record After The Eulogy: The Rerprise, personally. Terrific record.
In Bands I Didn't See At Warped Tour Yesterday news, My Chemical Romance of Warped fame will be doing a headlining tour with openers Reggie and the Full Effect and The Alkaline Trio this fall. More info can be seen over here.
I saw a guy in Montreal yesterday with a Streetlight Manifesto tour shirt on - the Tour Between The Other Two Tours Tour. I laughed pretty hard.
Drummer Ben Verellen(Harkonen) has left These Arm Are Snakes. The dude from Hey Mercedes is replacing him. There.
Good Lord, look at this tour: The Dillinger Escape Plan, Zao, Unearth and A Life Once Lost. This has to be a contender for heavy tour of the year:
September 20th Ft. Collins, CO - Aggie Theatre
September 21st Colorado Springs, CO - The Dark Side
September 24th Sacramento, CA - Colonial Theatre
September 26th Anaheim, CA - House Of Blues
September 28th Tucson, AZ - Coconuts 1500
September 29th Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theatre
October 01st Springfield, MO - The Rockwell
October 02nd Nashville, TN - Rocketown
October 06th Latham, NY - Saratoga Winners
October 07th New Haven, CT - Toads Place
October 08th Rochester, NY - Water Street Music Hall
These are initial dates. I really hope more are added, including maybe, say, you know...um, Ottawa. Yes.
A tour that won't be hitting Ottawa even though the headliners live here: Buried Inside, Mi Amore and Unsane. Dates:
September 23rd Halifax, NS - Attic
September 24th Moncton, NB - Manhattan Lounge
September 25th Fredericton, NB - Bugaboo Creek
September 26th Quebec City, QC - Kashmir
September 27th Montreal, QC - La Sala Rossa
September 29th Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace
September 30th London, ON - Call The Office
October 01st Hamilton, ON - The Underground
Listen up, kids: three new songs from Blindside(from the new album The Great Depression) are online over here. I love Blindside THIS much.
We have an interview up with Steve Hindalong, who besides his production work has also drummed for The Choir for the better part of two decades, and reading this thing I discovered that former Sixpence None the Richer songwriter Matt Slocumb played with the band at Cornerstone last month. Now I'm even more ticked that I missed it. Apparently it was ninety-nine degrees the first couple days, but I don't remember it being that hot. [phantomtollbooth]
In advance of their show here August 24th, listen to the new Stretch Arm Strong single 'The Sound of Names Dropping' right over here. This album will be enormous. I hope.
Oooooooh, new music from Pedro the Lion. Just demos, so don't get all bent outta shape if they don't sound amazing. It's vintage Pedro, with leader Dave Bazan and his creative co-conspirator T.W. Walsh. Sick. [punknews]
Another band that was present and accounted for at Warped yesterday was Relient K, who are also to be congratulated: Mmhmm has been certified gold by the RIAA in America, equaling sales over half a million. That's a lotta records. [jesusfreakhideout]
The first single from Thousand Foot Krutch's new album The Art of Breaking doesn't go to radio til later in August, but one station in Detroit, 89X, jumped the gun, adding 'Move' way early - and then it got huge, beating out fan requests for Disturbed, Trapt and others, so 89X had to put it into regular rotation. How 'bout that.
Rumour has it that the Madden brothers(Good Charlotte), after releasing a huge flop with the Hazen Street record on their own DC Flag label, are shutting down said label and buying up Los Angeles imprint Dim-Mak instead. What, they have so much money they can just do this? Who wants to be "the guy that sold out to Good Charlotte"? Geez. [absolutepunk]
A band I've toured with played a show in Quebec City a couple months back with Roses Are Red(great guys); RAR will be playing a benefit for a friend of theirs, Charlie Cote(Five Star Riot), who's been diagnosed with cancer. It's late notice, but if you're in the Rochester, NY area tomorrow night(July 31st), hit up the Water Street Music Hall.
Check out HM for some stories of Anberlin's current exploits down in Australia! Aussie punk band Antiskeptic is touring with them, which is good, since they're a sick band.
Big update today. Listen to my radio show tonight from 7-11 EST. 99.1 FM in the Ottawa area, CHRI.ca for the rest of the world. What what!
So it was the first Warped Tour experience today for yours truly, sweetdisaster dot com's Big Cheese, and it was pretty sick. Bands seen by your favourite 'zine hack included Bleed the Dream, Strung Out, The Dillinger Escape Plan, MxPx, Mae, Thrice and a bunch more. Take note, kids: the new album from Thrice, judging by the new material displayed tonight, will crush everything. They have grown as songwriters since 2003's The Artist In The Ambulance, and it shows mightily.
Offspring also played. Missed them. We did hear the sweet strains of 'Self Esteem' towards the end though. Ah, 1994.
That's it. For now. We're tired here. SOME of us worked all night and THEN went to Warped.
This'll be the last update until the weekend, as sweetdisaster Big Cheese is hitting the road to the Montreal stop on the Vans Warped Tour tomorrow. Here's to the rock.
Kiros friend and roadie Gordie Beckham was killed in a traffic accident heading home to his native Ontario a couple of weeks ago; the Hamilton native was heading back from San Francisco(where the band was playing the Warped Tour), and the accident happened in the band's hometown of Calgary, Alberta. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all involved.
downhere has finally found a new home following their stint with Warner: Centricity Records will release the band's next album in the not-too-distant future and a tour with The Swift goes down this fall.
An alert sd reader out in Winnipeg(what up in the Peg?) emailed news that Much The Same(formerly known as Don't Look Down til the Nitro Records band of the same name forced a change) will be in Ottawa August 3rd at Club SAW; according to the email, "they play an aggressive blend of mid-nineties punk, new school, extreme catchiness, and some screaming from the odd time to time." Sounds like a winner to me. Eight bucks, August 3rd.
The new material from A Perfect Murder(what up in Montreal?) sounds pretty vicious, barring some ill-advised singing. And they had the good sense to leave 'Time Bomb' from their last album up on their purevolume page.
This one's weird: is that megafamous actor/musician/Fresh Prince Will Smith I see with Bury Your Dead in this picture? Random. [lambgoat]
So did anyone else see Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Matt Clement being drilled in the head by a ball the other night? Oh man. Buddy took an enormous line drive square in the dome. He was rushed to hospital where CAT scans came up negative, meaning we can now snicker in a lighthearted way over this. Man, he went down in a hurry. I was genuinely horrified til it was relayed that he'll be fine. Really, I was.
A ton of hiphop news: DJ Maj bustetd out his latest opus this past Tuesday; entitled Boogiroot, it features collabos with dc Talk's Michael Tait, Manchild(Mars Ill), Liquid Beats, LA Symphony and more - and one big difference: rhymes from Maj himself, who's stepped out from behind the decks to rip the microphone. His August will be spent doing the Virtual Frequency tour featuring Mars Ill and Liquid, with Pigeon John appearing on select dates here and there(his new record Pigeon John Sings the Blues is pure heat).
The new Deepspace5 album debuted at #31 on CMJ's hiphop charts, making it the third-highest debut after Busdriver the mighty DJ Shadow. That's huge. Unique, Just Like Everyone Else deserves the acclaim.
Illect have brought in another talent: Scribbling Idiots member JustMe(he appeared on Stu Dent's 2003 album Nephilim: Acts of God Vol. 1) will put out his label debut One Man's Trash later this year.
Speaking of Pigeon John: his Quannum Records debut will be out February 2006. Quannum is also home to Shadow, Blackalicious and more. This'll be the bomb.
Hit up Sev Statik's website to see what was going on in the 518 and heard THIS: Sev and DJ Dust(Mars Ill) have a project coming out called Back to Dust(awesome name). Blueprint and LMNO, among others, will contribute rhymes to the album. I'm predicting sheer sickness.
Apparently the new Thousand Foot Krutch record, which I think is gonna be enormous, has lost entirely the band's hiphop roots. Which is fine. The rock will suit me. [renown]
I think that concludes the hiphop portion of today's news.
Jesus Wept were unable to play their set at Cornerstone Festival because guitarist Dave Quiggle was in the process of moving to California - and now I know why: No Innocent Victim has lost guitarist Cory Edelman, who's left for family and job reasons(good on him); Quiggle is the new dude on the block, meaning the new NIV record in November will destroy everything in sight. And they killed at Cstone too.
Speaking of that, the Cornerstone picture brigade is back from the Walmart developers; some lousy shots, some really nice ones. We'll get those up so you can have a look when time permits.
No Warning, Protest the Hero(Underground Operations) and The Black Maria(ex-Grade) are touring Canada starting August 2nd:
August 2, 2005 Montreal, QC Acceuil Linco
August 3, 2005 Quebec City, QC L'Anti
August 4, 2005 Saint John, NB Club 112
August 5, 2005 Halifax, NS The Pavilion
August 5, 2005 Halifax, NS The Attic
August 6, 2005 Kentville, NS Kentville Rec Centre
August 7, 2005 Fredericton, NB Capital Winter Club
August 8, 2005 Jonquiere, QC Chevaliers
August 16, 2005 Barrie, ON The Foundation
August 18, 2005 Peterborough, ON Trasheteria
August 20, 2005 Cambridge, ON Mill Race Park
August 21, 2005 London, ON The Embassy Hotel
August 22, 2005 Chatham, ON Twistersch
August 23, 2005 St. Catharines, ON L3
August 24, 2005 Windsor, ON The Chubby Pickle
I can't believe Chatham gets a show and Ottawa doesn't. [truthexplosion]
The new Demon Hunter album out later this year will be called The Triptych. This apparently strikes Americans as a weird name, but Canadian band The Tea Party had a record called Triptych years ago already. I still don't know what it means. [buzzgrinder]
Wow, this is quite the tour: Throwdown is taking Remembering Never, The Agony Scene and Sinai Beach out on the road. Dates:
8/14 Colorado Springs, CO @ The Darkside
8/15 Kansas City, MO @ El Torreon
8/16 Springfield, MO @ Rockwell
8/17 Sauget, IL @ Pop's
8/18 Rockford, IL @ Forest Hills Lodge
8/19 Indianapolis, IN @ Emerson Theatre
8/21 Trenton, NJ @ Hellfest
8/23 Erie, PA @ Forward Hall
8/24 Syracuse, NY @ Club Tundra
8/25 Albany, NY @ Saratoga Winners
8/26 Hamden, CT @ Elks Lodge
8/27 Farmingdale, NY @ Downtown
8/28 Providence, RI @ The Living Room
8/29 Lancaster, PA @ Chameleon Club
8/30 Baltimore, MD @ The Ottobar
8/31 Winston-Salem, NC @ Brew Ha Ha's
9/1 Nashville, TN @ Rockettown
9/2 Little Rock, AR @ Vinos
9/3 Oklahoma City, OK @ The Green Door
9/4 Lubbock, TX @ Jakes
9/7 San Antonio, TX @ The Sanctuary
9/8 El Paso, TX @ T Lounge
[lambgoat]
Last summer's Austin City Limits festival in Texas has yielded a best-of called, coincidentally, Austin City Limits. The album features performances from The Pixies, Blind Boys of Alabama(always a winner) and Dashboard Confessional, and comes out on Rhino Records August 30th. [Relevant]
The guy who invented TV dinners, Gerry Thomas, died Wednesday at the age of 83. I've never had one in my life to my knowledge. But rest in peace anyway.
There hasn't been an MTV: Unplugged album in a long time - until now: R&B siren Alicia Keys has one airing on the network September 9th, with guest shots from Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine, a guy I've never heard of and - get this now - Common and Mos Def. Maybe Talib Kweli will show up and him and Def can stage a Black Star reunion! That'd be hype!
Oh man, this is awesome news! Paramount has acquired the rights to the Smurfs franchise with the goal of a three-dimensional movie by 2008. That's rad!!
Former Vice President Al Gore announced that his newest venture Current, a television channel scheduled to launch Aug. 1, will not have any political slant. The 24-hour news and information channel is targeted for the 18 to 34-year-old audience. I think the bit about not having a political slant is crap.
One of my coworkers informed me this morning at work that the Foo Fighters Canadian dates later this year(eight cities, none of them Ottawa) will feature openers Sloan, therefore making me a lock to see the Montreal show. I love Sloan.
The Contender lasted all of one season, featuring one of the contestants dying soon after his appearance(awful story), some really bad scripting for Sly Stallone, and more - and ESPN is apparently close to signing it up for a second go-round. As they say, never, ever count Stallone out.
It's not news anymore, but in a stroke of irony straight from the heavens, the cop from the Village People was arrested last weekend. *pause for laughter* Thank you very much. We'll be here all week.
Thanks go out to a guy I like to call Uncle Shawn, who runs punkottawa(see banner up top), and who provided me with access to the new Stretch Arm Strong record. Kids, lemme tell you something. They will come August 24th(Babylon, with Haste the Day), and they are going to wreck the place. Go and enjoy one of the best positive hardcore bands alive.
With the legendary CBGB's in New York City still under threat of closure, the almost-as-legendary hardcore band Lifetime have reunited for this year's Hellfest after the festival offered to put forty grand towards charities of the band's choice, as well as a healthy sum to the campaign to keep CB's open. Great story, and Lifetime will kill everything next month in upstate New York. [altpress]
...in a related story, an act is scheduled for Hellfest called - not kidding here - the Tony Danza Tap Dance Extravaganza. That is so stupid it sounds like I made it up.
Strength Through Vengeance is the very-near-future new record from Quebec's A Perfect Murder, who have replaced, I think, four-fifths of the lineup that recorded Unbroken. I hope the sound isn't too drastically different, because the intro to 'Time Bomb' still pops up in my head a lot. Great tune. If you care to find out for yourself, check this out.
Oh dang, says here Public Enemy are reuniting for Hellfest too! I gotta hit this now! Public Enemy! "Don't believe the hype!"
New Suicide Machines alert! This here song's called 'The Red Flag', from the upcoming record War Profiteering Is Killing Us All. This track is pure heat. So much for the ska side of things.
To all of you in our little sweetdisastrous community: thanks for breaking our previous record for total traffic in a month! How 'bout that. We'll keep up the new content - you tell all your friends. This is a good thing God's provided us here, this sweetdisaster place.
We like it anyway. Thanks for letting us know you do too.
Peace for now.
To start with, I just thought I'd mention that I forgot how brutally heavy Embodyment's first album is. That's Embrace the Eternal, for those keeping score at home.
Some news and stuff before I head to the ballpark to catch the local Triple-A ballteam with my folks.
Anyone remember Limp Bizkit? Sure ya do - hey, I'll be honest: 1997's Three-Dollar Bill, Y'a$$ remains a great, raw record - but after that, yeah, the Biz kinda hit the skids. Anyway, 'Nookie' has been voted the Lamest Song of All Time by some of the kids at antimusic.com. The top 10 of said list can be seen over here. See Hole's 'Gold Dust Woman'? The original(Fleetwood Mac wrote the song) was amazing. The rest of the list is, yeah, pretty much garbage.
Our intrepid web chief, one Galen Broaddus(email him congratulating him and wife on their expected child - lower right corner there!) informed tonight of a fact that I did not know. I know, I know, right now you're all saying, "What? sweetdisaster's Big Cheese didn't know something??" Shocking. Anyway, it turns out Reese Roper isn't the only Five Iron Frenzy connection in his new eponymous band - rhythm guitarist Stephen Till is married to one Leanor Ortega, aka founding FIF saxophonist Jeff the Girl. I just found that interesting.
One more quick hit: yes, his sound is commercial, and yes he dabbles with guitars, but Toronto rapper Manafest still deserves your respect; the kid can straight-up spit it, and writes a great song to boot. Check him out here or maybe over here. His new album Epiphany dropped Tuesday on BEC Records, and I'm predicting by this time next year he'll be in demand.
One more thing: DJ Omnifik, a supporter of sweetdisaster from the very beginning(and way before that), is throwing down a set of drum and bass that will rattle your fillings loose as part of Intange-Abilities. The other DJ for the night is Lushey; Omnifik tears the decks apart from six to eight pm. It all goes down at the Mercury Lounge here in Ottawa(Byward Market) from six to ten, July 29th. Cost? A measly eight dollars, or five with a donated food item. Sadly, I'll be at Warped in Montreal that day, but y'all come out and support!
So the stats counter has been busted since early in July, and I guess it's now fixed - and the traffic around here(though still on the decidedly-small tip) is way, way more than we've ever gotten. Maybe all those new reviews and stuff are attracting more people - or are the same deadbeats just showing up more?
Kidding. We love every single one of you.
So Foo Fighers guitarist Chris Shiflett used to be in Face to Face - that's common knowledge. Did you know, however, that he also did time with No Use For a Name? I did not. Nor did I know he's also a member of Me First and the Gimme Gimmes(who are hilarious, no matter what people think). Anyway, he's got his own gig now, called Jackson United. Read up on a punk kid made good over here.
One of the many, many purchases I made at Cornerstone was a cassette copy of Starflyer 59's 1997 classic Americana; I'd never heard the actual record before, just a bunch of the songs live, and let me tell you this: 'The Boulevard' may be the heaviest song SF59 has ever written. Stiff competition comes from 'Duel Overhead Cam'. Tough call.
I do so love Killswitch Engage, and even though they're taking a break from writing new material til at least next summer(subject to change, I'm sure), they do have a DVD coming in November. [noisetheory]
If you hadn't already noticed(and we wouldn't blame you if you hadn't given how long it's been), a NEW INTERVIEW is up. Woohoo! New interview! It's right above, about an inch above these very words!! Steve Hindalong is a great dude for talking to us. Go read it. And there'll be more, and more regular, content in future.
Winnipeg's Every New Day(once technical punk, now metalcore, on Florida's Hand of Hope Records) are in town August 8th...well, in town down in Kemptville, which is in town enough. Show goes down at North Grenville Community Church, six pm, seven bucks. Summer's End and Daggers Bearing Notes are also playing, among others. Props to Dave Leibold on the tip.
...and what's this I see at punkottawa.com? Sigur Ros is coming to Ottawa? And playing the Bronson Centre? Interesting.
If you've heard that Further Seems Forever are breaking up, they're not. Shows are scheduled clear into September. Just because they're not playing every festival known to mankind this summer doesn't mean they're toast.
Transition is a fun band I heard for the first time today. If you like pop rock you might dig them too.
Spoken(big bad Arkansas!) have a new song up on their purevolume page; it's got Cory from Norma Jean doing some rather unnecessary screams. Decent song. [IVM]
In Bands I'll See In Two Weeks news, MxPx and Relient K are doing a co-headlining tour this fall, apparently with Rufio and Tsunami Bomb opening.
In what could become a real ugly situation, Chevelle bassist Joe Loeffler, who'd been reported as taking a break from the band for the summer, has asserted that he was, in fact, canned. Does the fact that the other two dudes in Chevelle are his own brothers complicate things? Ouch.
Talk about a blast from my past: Disciple are gonna blow huge with their new record, apparently. Check this out. [rockrebel]
Apparently, Thrice's new DVD is pretty friggin' good. And of the nine songs that are also included(b-sides and such), there's a cover of the Beatles' 'Eleanor Rigby'. I have to hear this!
Apparently the Rolling Stones, when they're not playing hugely-hyped shows in Ottawa(August 28th - their second show here and first since 1965), are also doing their first record in eight years. How 'bout them geezers. [aversion]
As long as they keep writing fun little songs, I don't care who they punch out: Matchbook Romance apparently brawled with ejected Warped Tour fans who'd been kicked out of the previous day's festival in Montana. As a result, MR missed the Salt Lake City Warped date. I love stories like this.
This happened last week right here in Ottawa(on the Queensway, if you're that curious), and apparently our United States friends have found the humour as well. Gotta love our fair city making the news in such dubious regard.
Madball have another slab of NYHC action coming out in the near future - and this video for 'Heaven-Hell' is a good reason why I'M gonna be wherever fine music is sold August 2nd to pick it up. [pastepunk]
Fat Wreck Chords(wreck chords...records...get it? GEEZ, people) is doing a tour that will hit every single one of the fifty United States. I've never heard any of the bands on the tour, which proves how old I am. When I paid close attention to Fat, it was Lagwagon, Pulley, etc. Where are those bands?
I dug Seventh Star's debut on Facedown Recs, and this guy at pastepunk really digs their new one, Brood of Vipers. I really gotta hear this one.
I can't believe this: Mars Ill's long-delayed new album Pro*Pain, finally scheduled to drop next week, has been "indefinitely delayed" by Gotee Records' parent owner, the monolithic EMI. "You can only imagine the disappointment and frustration we are feeling over this news at such late notice," DJ Dust said on MI's myspace.com page. "Mars ILL and Gotee just received this news July 3rd and are still in a bit of shock considering there have been no new complications since the album was first delayed last October. Regardless, Mars ILL is still working hard to bring you the best music we can, and it wont stop here. We trust God's plan for Pro*Pain and for Mars ILL. Stay tuned for His next move." GEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZ. I was planning on getting that one next Tuesday. [jesusfreakhideout]
Head Automatica has cancelled some dates recently on account of illness(my guess is singer Daryl Palumbo's Crohn's disease acting up), and I just hope they're able to play here in Ottawa in September(opening for Underoath and The Used). [absolutepunk]
Apparently The Pixies are gonna record their first album in almost fifteen years. I've never heard a note of their music, so I can't say I care much at this point.
I'd maybe believe this if DMX, Mase and countless other rappers didn't keep telling lies: Eminem has apparently retired. Uh huh.
Discovered while reading HM's blog that MxPx is apparently toting a second guitarist around on the Warped tour. What? Random. That'll be weird to see on the 29th. In Montreal. I'm real excited. Yes.
Hard to believe it's been ten years: Sacramento's finest, the Deftones, have put up a bunch of rare stuff on their myspace page. Statement from vocalist Chino Moreno: "We've got so many recordings of covers and remixes and there's loads of stuff people haven't really heard. I've got boxes of VHS tapes and there's so much insane footage of crazy stage shows and wild stuff. So it's going to be like a timeline from the beginning up to now. There'll be an album of B-sides and rarity songs and a DVD with it, so it's going to be really cool. Adrenaline came out in September 1995, so I think we're aiming to release this around our 10th anniversary." [saveyourscene]
So I'm listening to Mutemath's killer self-titled EP at work this morning and, being the nerd I am, perusing the liner notes, and I discover that the raddest song, 'Peculiar People', was apparently co-written with Switchfoot frontman Jon Foreman, making a great song that much greater. If this band doesn't bust out of the Christian-music ghetto, I'll be furious. You don't want to risk my wrath, listening public!!
Speaking of such things, another post-Cornerstone Fest discovery has been a song by Last Page First...the title escapes me and I'm too lazy to go find the CD, but it really reminds me of New Found Glory, and that's a Real Big Plus. Go listen to them over here. 'Song For You'! That's the one. Yaaay pop punk.
I can't say I'm familiar with any of the bands or the organization behind it, but my father and aunt deal with multiple sclerosis, so pay attention and support if you're so led. I'll excerpt the statement found at pastepunk:
"SOLID PR PRESENTS, Volume 1: A Benefit For the National Multiple Sclerosis Society(OTR). Already being called the best mixtape of '05 by CMJ and receiving numerous accolades from Pitchfork, PunkNews, the Asscoiated Press, and more, we are very pleased to finally have this record on the shelves today. Featuring some of the finest artists from the Solid PR roster over the past year, including The Unicorns, Hella, Man Man, Year Future, Jesu, and tons more, this compilation's proceeds will go to benefit the nmss.org - thank you so much for everyone's support and for more info, check out myspace.com/solidprpresents."
At the risk of sounding really not oldschool, there's news that legendary band Turmoil are reuniting to play Hellfest in Jersey next month - and I've never heard Turmoil in my life. Ever. So there!!
Some random notes.
Stretch Arm Strong and Haste the Day's co-headlining tour hits Ottawa August 24th with openers Kane Hodder and Still Remains(the latter appeared at Cornerstone Fest and impressed me highly). Show's at Babylon, usual price, usual ticket places.
Thanks to the massive thunderstorm that hit Ottawa last night, Rjd2(ie the freshest DJ from Ohio, baby!) had his scheduled Bluesfest headlining performance cancelled - if in fact he ever made it to Ottawa; there are rumours that there was terrible weather in Ohio too, possibly preventing the plane from even taking off. Either way, it was a no-go. The storm was awesome though.
Dogwood released a best-of last year on Tooth & Nail, and it really struck me last night how 'Undertaking', an unreleased song they threw on at the end of the album, stands up to the best they've done over their ten years. What a great band.
Essential Listening for today, July 14th, is Brutal Fight's Strikefirst Records debut Our Merciful Father. I'm not sure quite what they were going for with the weird-ish production, but it works, and the record is an absolute beast. Eleven tracks of Really. Heavy. Hardcore. With metallic tinges, yes, but definitely hardcore.
I took a listen to Pigeon John's newest, Pigeon John Sings the Blues, earlier this week at my Friendly Local Christian Retailer, and it's kinda hit-and-miss. Gone are the days of pure rap, and new is the mix of jazz, soulful singing and other assorted mechanisms of bringing the heat. 'Upside Down Rotten' features some super-fly bass from 4th Avenue Jones' Phat Al that just shakes the headphones - I bet it sounds great in my car - oh wait I don't have one.
The Juliana Theory will be releasing their new album Deadbeat Sweetheart September 13th through their own Paper Fist label - as well as(this just in) California's Abacus Recordings(All Else Failed, Glass Casket, The Goodwill). They'll be heading out on tour starting August 30th with Lovedrug, Days Away and the aforementioned Goodwill. I'd go see that if it came here. [truthexplosion]
Two weeks today Montreal's Warped Tour stop!! I'm especially excited to see Calgary's Kiros, who will be playing every single one of the tour's 48 stops. That is a long friggin' tour.
He Is Legend was in town last week "opening" for Eighteen Visions; what actually wound up happening was HIL rolled in late(the norm here in Ottawa, thanks to border/traffic concerns coming into our fair city) and ended up playing last - a four-song set. Now, I don't have pictures of the show at Babylon, but I CAN give you pictures of both bands playing at El Salon in Montreal the next night. 18V right over here; He Is Legend(wow they look scary for a "Christian metal band") over here. The rock was had.
One of the turn-of-the-millennium bands that weren't nu-metal enough to suck, Nonpoint, have put up a demo version of a new song called 'Buscando Me' over here. [theprp]
The Black Dahlia Murder put out an album this week - did anyone else know that?
Mentioning the Juliana Theory signing with Abacus earlier: Quebec's Ion Dissonance will be putting out a record called Solace on Abacus. September 6th. It will peel the skin off your face with its tech-metal slaughter.
You like metal? You like videos of metal bands playing metal songs? Check out As I Lay Dying rocking out 'Confined' over here!
I can't wait for Blindside's new album The Great Depression. It hits August 2nd. I'm buying it like I've bought all their other albums. Maybe you should consider that.
Aight kids, get your hiphop on: Toronto MC Manafest has a brand-new album called Epiphany coming out next week on BEC Recordings; this follows two indie projects the last couple years. Try out some tracks over here and be rocked.
For those Relient K fans out there, the band will be performing tonight, July 11th, on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. They'll be doing 'Be My Escape'. I can't watch since I'll be at work, so everyone else has to and tell me how it was.
Today's Essential Listening is a band that played Cornerstone, but I didn't see them since I didn't know they existed: Paramore are from Tennessee, female-fronted, and they sound like what Taking Back Sunday might sound like if those were their circumstances. Check out their stuff over here and be rocked. Yay pop.
One of the three brothers Loeffler that comprise Chicago rock machine Chevelle will be skipping the summer tour with Taproot and 30 Seconds to Mars to be home with family; former Filter guitarist Geno Lenardo will be the stopgap measure. [cmcentral]
Rumour has it that Anti-Flag will be the opening act for the upcoming Ottawa Green Day/Jimmy Eat World show. Fact? Fiction? It remains to be seen.
Congratulations go out, first of all, to my homey and roommate Corey Vandermeer, who proposed tonight to his intended, one Vanessa Sugar. She said yes, we all partied, and now there are balloons all over my house. Rock and roll.
I took part in a press conference featuring Toby Mac last weekend, and one interesting note was that he mentioned a new album from DJ Maj later this year that "isn't a mixtape; it's a display of his own artistry." I'm pretty stoked to hear this.
Further hiphop bits: new albums are in the works for both Stu Dent and LA Symphony - whose ringleader Flynn has also taken a job working for Relevant magazine. Fresh. [Illect]
Afternoon, loyal readers. It's Friday, sweetdisaster Big Cheese's one day off per week, so I'm heading out to get some stuff done, but some sad news to relay first: one of Ottawa's best and favourite bands, The Transit, has called it a day. Man, what is with the parade of breakups lately? The Transit were a spinoff from the late hardcore legends Miles Between Us(three-fourths of the band played in MBU) and toured Canada and the United States on the strength of two full-length albums and an old split with The Vanishing Red(2001). Punk rock never sounded quite like this. They'll be missed.
Two more Official Post-Cornerstone details of note: the lengthening list of breakups also includes Winnipeg hardcore stalwarts Figure Four and Atlanta stage-destroyers Squad 5-0. Man, pieces of my past are dropping like flies!
Evening all. Following Cornerstone 2005, there will be a plethora of interviews/pictures/random tidbits in this space, since it's my space and it was my first time hitting Cstone. So there. Having gone through five disposable cameras, there'll hopefully be about a hundred pictures that actually turned out decently, so in due time we'll post those with amusing little captions for the edification and amusement of all of you. A lot of weird stuff goes down at festivals like this, and I got pictures of all the weirdness I could. Like the guy crowdsurfing at the Roper show with a full-on Winnie the Pooh costume on. Random.
One of the small things I picked up in Illinois was this six-song sampler containing two new tracks from Evergreen Terrace and Gods, and one each from Winnipeg's Every New Day and The Burning Season. Good bands all - and while I'm not at all surprised that the new ET material is miles ahead of their older recordings, Gods really impressed me. I'd heard for over a year now that they were kind of electronics-tinged, and that kinda turned me off, but they know their way around a breakdown.
This band from Montreal, Onlyforward, has been in Ottawa a few times now, and I've managed to miss every show to my chagrin - and now it turns out that singer Dave Martel is kin to Marc Martel(downhere), which only makes me more eager to see this band. Their debut album Everything's Perfect is reviewed over here. Sounds like something I'd dig.
A band that, from most accounts, disappointed at Cornerstone was Switchfoot, who allegedly played a "really mellow" set. That would have been fine by me at any rate, but I was off somewhere else watching No Innocent Victim tear the place apart. Anyway, Switchfoot's new one, Nothing Is Sound, comes out September 13th(two delays and counting).
One exceptionally cool thing about last weekend was taking part in a Jars of Clay press conference, because the lads had just gotten off the plane from Philadelphia, where they'd performed at the Live 8 show there - at Bono's behest. As in U2's Bono. Wow, that's high-powered friends. Other artists appearing in Philly included Dave Matthews, Linkin Park, Maroon 5 and about ten other multi-platinum rock bands. Impressive. Did you know Jars have over five million in career record sales? I had no idea.
Cave In - aka one of the best bands ever, period - are putting out a new album called Perfect Pitch Black later this year, and since drummer J.R. Connor is out of the country(US), Converge drummer Ben Koller will be filling in for rehearsals and possibly a tour. Just thought y'all Cave In fans would like to know. [hxc]
Oh wow: The Used and Underoath's tour is hitting Canada:
09.07: Montreal, QC @ The Stade Uniprix
09.09: Quebec City, QC @ Agora
09.10: London, ON @ John Labatt Centre
09.11: Ottawa, ON @ Civic Center
09.13: Mississauga, ON @ Arrow Hall
09.15: Thunder Bay, ON @ Community Auditorium
09.16: Winnipeg, MB @ Winnipeg Convention Center
09.18: Saskatoon, SK @ Wheatland A
09.19: Edmonton, AB @ Northlands Coliseum
09.20: Calgary, AB @ Calgary Stampede
09.22: Vancouver, BC @ Pacific National Exhibition Concert Bowl
Opening acts include the amazing Head Automatica and Alexisonfire. Wow. I will be there September 11th.
In further replacement-drummer news, and to absolutely no one's surprise, Zao drummer Stephen Peck has bailed due to "financial difficulties"; Jeff Gretz(no idea) will join the band for their upcoming Strhess and Warped tour dates.
More later.
Greetings, fuzzlings.
sweetdisaster Big Cheese is back from his first-ever Cornerstone Festival experience. Dust. Tens of thousands of people. Big-name artists continually blowing off their press conferences. Hundreds of bands, big and small. Generator stages everywhere. Canadians in abundance(hi Jody/Natalie). Legendary sets from Starflyer 59, No Innocent Victim, The Chariot, Duvall and more. Interviews with Dead Poetic, One-21, and Floodgate Records pres/former Prayer Chain frontman Tim Taber. Word that One-21, Denison Marrs and Cool Hand Luke are all no more.
More later. When I've recovered.