So sweetdisaster enforcer DJ Omnifik and myself were poking around Norml Clothing yesterday and in the giveaway/promotions rack I found the last copy of a spring 2005 sampler from the folks at Vagrant Records - and I have one question: where the blazes have Alkaline Trio been all my life?? One song. One is all it took to convince me that I now need to own their entire back catalogue. Ringing endorsement there.
Secondly: Derek Webb's third solo album Mockingbird was released Boxing Day, and not coincidentally, his website has been retooled. Included are all kinds of new features - including a music player for you chintzes too cheap to buy the album.
Rachelle will love this: I've fallen for Jack's Mannequin's song 'The Mixed Tape'. JM, of course, is the side gig of Something Corporate frontman Andrew McMahon, and write some really catchy, quasi-cheesy pop, as exemplified over here. Catchy like the plague, I tell you.
Hooray for Boxing Day sales!
I was cruising around and thought this story was pretty awesome. Hope you laughed like I did.
Merry Christmas Day to one and all, my sweetdisaster legion. This is our third Christmas in existence, and without readership, a magazine like this is irrelevant. Thanks for making us valid. Woohoo!
Special thanks to Dave and Kelly Flikkema(brand-new parents), Galen and Courtney Broaddus(very-soon-to-be-brand-new parents), Heidi Eckert, Rachelle Gendron, Al Lustie, any band we've worked with or will work with, any 'zine we've hyped, any 'zine that's hyped us, and cmusicweb for bringing me aboard(hot site, don't sleep on it).
There's been a lot of inertia around here lately, and we do apologize, but life has its priorities. Thanks for sticking with us in the downtime.
Let's go fetch us some rock news.
sphereofhiphop has a brand-new LA Symphony Christmas song called - duh - 'It's Christmas', available for streaming over here. Hot track. Ohmega Watts new LP was SOHH's number-one seller this year, so you might wanna invest in some of that rap goodness as well. Exclaim! mag here in Canada gave huge propers to that record, if that's a convincing point.
The late, great Grade have now spawned another new band: former bassist Matt Jones has a new project called To The Lions, also featuring ex-members of Under the Radar and Headfirst Straight to Hell. I'll bet five bucks that this band will immediately sign to Victory Records, as Grade and every other of their progeny(Somehow Hollow and The Black Maria) have. [truthexplosion]
One of my favourite hardcore bands of the last two years, Freya, have posted the first new cut from their upcoming second album Lift the Curse. The song is called 'Born In Blood' - peep it over here. Sickness.
This Is Hell, following a year in which they've been one of the most talked-about hardcore bands around, have capped off 2005 by signing with the mighty Trustkill Records. Their label debut will be out soon, yadda yadda yadda. Insert all the usual optimism from both parties here.
This company out of St. Louis may really go places: Vans For Bands are now in business providing quality vans for the thousands of grassroots troupes crisscrossing this great continent of ours. Good on 'em. [lambgoat]
I saw Montreal's Neuraxis live a few months ago and was taken by storm by the band's deadly precision, inventiveness and amazing stage show - and now their new record is being wildly praised by the kids over at lambgoat dot com. Apparently I have to own this record soon.
The annual Cornerstone Festival down in Illinois will announce the first sixty confirmed acts for next summer during the last six days of 2005 - that would be starting today through the new year. Hit up the Cornerstone website for details. I know I'm going again in 2006, given that the very first announced band is a return engagement with the mighty P.O.D.! Woo! [phantomtollbooth]
The Showdown took metal by storm this year with their debut album A Chorus of Obliteration(soon to be re-released internationally by Abacus Recordings, who've also remastered the album), and now they have a new track online called 'Give Us This Day'. The song will be tacked onto the re-release. [theprp]
The newest from Raised Fist(it's about time!) is done, and will be out in April. I wish I could travel in time and skip the next three months. [pastepunk]
A note to apologize for the dearth of stuff happening around here lately: it's been a very busy coupla weeks here at the D, but we'll be back in the saddle next week. I know, I know, we've said that before, but we'll keep saying it until it happens. *smirk*
Go read a book.
Greetings, kids, from Toronto's downtown core - more specifically, the residence for the University of Toronto. sweetdisaster Big Cheese(yours truly) and enforcer Omnifik hit up the Opera House down the way last night to see P.O.D., who lived up to the last ten years of reportage and put on a wild show, featuring a second guitarist for texture and a multi-instrumentalist on percussion as well as backup vocals. Payable was doing a one-off show, as they're still wrapping up the Fall Brawl tour, but none of the other three bands on said tour felt like crossing the border, so the lads came up solo. Set highlights included 'Southtown', 'Boom', some fresh material from the band's upcoming Testify album(out January 24th), and a couple hits from 2003's self-titled disc.
The wait was ten years, the bus ride here to Toronto from the D's headquarters in Ottawa was five hours - and it was worth all of it.
Story of the Year(sweetdisaster enforcer Omnifik likes 'em) are taking From First to Last(meh) and Every Time I Die(WOOHOO!) out on tour next year, with He Is Legend and Adair appearing on select dates - let's just hope your city has been selected!
01/05/2006 Salt Lake City, UT @ Club Ice w/He Is Legend
01/06/2006 Boise, ID @ Big Easy Concert House w/He Is Legend
01/07/2006 Spokane, WA @ The Big Easy Concert Hall w/He Is Legend
01/08/2006 Vancouver, BC @ Croatian Cultural Center
01/11/2006 Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theatre w/He Is Legend
01/13/2006 Lubbock, TX @ South Beach w/He Is Legend
01/14/2006 Austin, TX @ The Backroom w/He Is Legend
01/15/2006 Corpus Christi, TX @ The Pavilion w/He Is Legend
01/18/2006 Springdale, AR @ Springdale Civic Center
01/20/2006 N. Myrtle Beach, SC @ House of Blues
01/21/2006 North Charleston, SC @ Center Stage at the Plex
01/24/2006 Quebec City, QC @ Theatre Capitole
01/25/2006 Montreal, QC @ Spectrum de Montreal
01/27/2006 Traverse City, MI @ Streeters w/Adair
01/31/2006 Columbia, MO @ Blue Note w/Adair
[truthexplosion]
In a related story, Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland has apparently joined From First to Last on their current tour, playing bass. Weeeeird.
New Found Glory guitarist Chad Gilbert is now engaged to Eisley sister Sherri Dupree(there are three Duprees in Eisley, you see). Why are we discussing the personal lives of rock stars? Because I love New Found Glory, that's why.
Check out Moneen's Kenny Bridges catching some serious hang time over here!
Hi fuzzlings. Slow few days/week here at the D, but that'll change later tonight when a massive update will be yours free of charge. To get into the Christmas spirit - like you need the encouragement - hit up purevolume's stream of Tooth & Nail's Happy Christmas Vol. 4 over here. I particularly recommend Copeland's 'Do You Hear What I Hear'. Superb.
Off to see The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe tonight. Peace, kids.
Yesterday here in Ottawa, 21-year-old K'Leigh Cundall was killed after answering her door to her assailant. While I didn't know her personally, I know several people(and more as I discover them) who did: a bright young woman in her fourth year at Ottawa University, involved with the Ottawa Christian Fellowship group on campus, murdered with a knife by an ex-boyfriend. And though I didn't know her, I can't let this pass without a memorial of some sort. K'Leigh, please know that we know that you might be the first to greet us when we enter the next life. While we're speechless with grief here, we know you're among the singing host of heaven.
The full story is over here, from yesterday's Ottawa Citizen.
Good night.
Three of the major TV networks down south(CBS, NBC and, unsurprisingly, Fox) are all courting Family Guy mastermind Seth McFarlane for a live-action comedy series centreing around a 44-year-old dude who looks back on his life when he was in his 30s, unemployed and living on his parents' couch. Not much of a premise, in my humble opinion, but this is Seth McFarlane here. The guy is a genius. [Relevant]
The Grammy nominations were announced yesterday. No real highlights save U2. I don't really care about the others. Kanye West is obviously loaded with potential hardware.
Jars of Clay are thinkers: when they played their show as part of the Philadelphia Live 8 series of performances, they had a really nice acoustic guitar signed by - among others - the entire Dave Matthews Band, Sarah MacLachlan, The Fugees, actor Chris Tucker(Rush Hour) and washed-up celebrity Paula Abdul. Now, they're turning around and auctioning it off on eBay, with the proceeds(hopefully a ton) going straight to Blood:Water Mission, the foundation JOC set up to help with clean water in Africa. The Mission's website is over here, and if you wanna bid on the guitar, check this out.
I have a feeling that one of my favourite rock bands of the last two years, Duvall, are soon to be on hiatus - or worse. The Cater brothers Josh and Eli have re-formed their former band Smoking Popes, and what was to be a one-off show for a booking-agency anniversary fest turned into a new DVD consisting of that November 11th show in the band's native Chicago, coming via Victory Records February 28th of '06. They'll be touring in support of the DVD with Bayside opening up. Can a new album be far behind? Rest in peace, Duvall. [AP]
One interesting bit of Grammy-nomination news: Norma Jean's O God, The Aftermath is up for Best Recording Package; the art was done by our bros at Asterik Studio out in Seattle - congratulations, fellas!!
Long-absent New Jersey roughnecks Bigwig(they threatened to beat up a fifteen-year-old friend of mine once) are putting out their first album in five years, titled Reclamation. February 7th is the release date on Fearless Records(home to Ottawa lads The Fully Down, currently ripping up the United States on tour with Halifax).
The In Flames/Zao tour next year won't be hitting Ottawa, to no one's great surprise; Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City will be shown the love:
February 19, 2006 - Montreal, QC - Le Medley
February 20, 2006 - Quebec City, QC - Theatre Capitole
February 21, 2006 - Toronto, ONT - Kool Haus
As well, Vancouver gets the rock dropped on January 31st at the Croatian Cultural Centre. Go see this show.
One tour I do hope hits Ottawa is the Yellowcard/Mae trek, happening early next year. We'll see.
Heads up if you live in the south and southwest coasts of the U-Nited States of America: Sinai Beach, Nodes of Ranvier(formerly labelmates), August Burns Red and Oblige are going on a big ol' metalcore tour next year:
January 05th Anaheim, CA - Chain Reaction
January 07th Las Vegas, NV - The Clubhouse
January 08th Tempe, AZ - Neckbeard's
January 010th Lubbock, TX - Winchester Pavillion
January 11th San Antonio, TX - White Rabbit
January 12th Houston, TX - Walter's On Washington
January 13th Dallas, TX - The Door
January 14th Tulsa, OK - The Pinkeye
January 15th Wichita, KS - Headway Skatepark
January 16th Denver, CO - Rock Island
January 17th Boise, ID - The Venue
January 18th Spokane, WA - Big Dipper
January 19th Seattle, WA - Studio Seven
January 21st San Francisco, CA - Pound SF
January 22nd Corona, CA - Showcase Theatre
I was told about this earlier this week and can't remember if I posted it here, let alone if I even believe it yet: the hugely successful Taste of Chaos tour will be back in 2006, and Ottawa has a date. April 14th/06 at the Corel Centre in Kanata will see Deftones, Thrice, As I Lay Dying and a slew more in town, as well as a band just announced to be playing the Canadian dates: Thursday. How 'bout that? Lil' ol' Ottawa!
Got any photos or kickin' video of Terror? The Los Angeles quintet are putting together a DVD, so if you have the goods, they wanna hear from you: Terror@trustkill.com. [scenepointblank]
So this band Lokyata have signed with Indianola Records; just for kicks, I had my girl Julia listen to about five seconds of Lokyata at work, simply for her reaction: "Yikes. I think I'll stick with the Dixie Chicks." Nuf sed.
Today's Essential Listening: Force of Change, straight outta SoCal, and busting the pit apart over here. Hit it hard!
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe opens tomorrow night. For a fun take on the Christian salvation story, check it out. Maybe I'll go see it at the shiny new theatre here in suburban Ottawa. Who wants to go with me??
This will make lots of kids happy: Circa Survive and Saves the Day, after sharing a bill by accident in Montreal last month opening for My Chemical Romance and Thrice, will go out on tour in the new year. Openers? Moneen! Whoooo! [truthexplosion]
I guess any excuse Evanescence have to be in the news is worth the while: singer Amy Lee is suing the pants off former manager Dennis Rider. A tersely-worded statement released this week by Rider Management says, "Ms. Lee is very creative in writing lyrics to a song. But now she is creating a version of reality that simply has no basis in fact and she knows that. Dennis Rider's guidance of Evanescence and Ms. Lee's personal career has made her a rock and roll celebrity worldwide and wealthy beyond her dreams. That she would now turn on him, make such spurious and groundless allegations and summarily dismiss him is illegal and disappointing beyond words." That's just part of it, too. Ugly.
Following a very disturbing incident at a venue in Tuscon, Arizona, a local kid has stepped up to the plate and delivered a speech worth reading. Amen, brother. The incident in question was a shooting at Skrappy's in Tuscon at a show featuring Hoods and Donnybrook.
They're finally coming, Ottawa kids: Nine Inch Nails have announced a tour stop here in Cap City March 3rd. No word up support, but the show's out at the Corel Centre, so get ready for the madness of the capitaltickets.com rush as soon as ducats go on sale. Tom, you cannot miss this one.
What the bloody...Courtney Love, that tramp, is selling a portion of her deceased husband Kurt Cobain's songwriting catalogue to...Martha Stewart? What, is this the fifth horseman of the Apocalypse? Stewart is calling the songs a "good investment", apparently good enough for her to pay $150 million for them. I hope this is a joke, but if it's not, I've never hated my life more.
Another sign of the undeground's slow surrender to the money: Victory Records and massive video-game maker EA Games have struck a deal that will have Victory exclusively providing the soundtrack for MVP '06 NCAA baseball game. Geez.
mewithoutYou are awesome. My favourite part is where it's mentioned that the band are writing their third album, to be recorded starting next month. [rockrebel]
So former Creed frontman-turned-Christian-music-hopeful Scott Stapp was acting like an idiot recently. Happy Thanksgiving indeed. At least I have an excuse to mention the almighty 311!(Click the link.) How in the blazes did Creed sell thirty million records? Including one, in 1997, to me??
More evidence, kids, that crime doesn't pay: there have been a number of bands(and it's apparently growing) who have gotten it into their thick skulls to approach companies known to sponsor the annual Warped Tour traveling punk festival, claim that they're booked for the 2006 edition and oh, by the way can we have some free stuff? Tour founder/voice Kevin Lyman told MTV, "We're already aware of a couple of bands that have been telling companies they're playing Warped, and we're finding out about more every day. And when we do, those bands are banned from not just next year's tour, but all future editions of Warped. We don't tolerate fraud." As the article points out, Lyman deals with almost all of the sponsoring companies on a face-to-face basis, making it easy for said companies to simply approach him about their suspicions. This proves my point: a lot bands are comprised of morons.
Essential Listening for today, December 6th(nineteen days til Christmas!), a band not comprised of morons, is Boston's Endway, whose propulsive, emo-influenced guitar rock has hooked me this cold evening. Check 'em out over at their(improved!) purevolume.com site. Apparently pv.com has undergone a facelift since last I was around.
It was a year ago Thursday(December 8th) that 'Dimebag' Darrell Abbott was gunned down onstage with Damageplan in Ohio; 24-year-old Nathan Gale was indentified as the assailant by police on-scene, who ended it with a single shotgun blast to Gale's head. The incident shook our entire heavy-music community, and a year later, MTV has a piece involving a slew of Abbott's friends and fellow musicians. A tribute, one year later. Apparently a recent Nickelback single begins with a 24-second guitar lead performed by Dimebag before his death, not that that's any excuse to be listening to Nickelback.
Speaking of Nickelback, as we sadly just were, they're gonna do a headlining Canadian tour in the new year. Support? Live. Remember Live? 'Lightning Crashes'? Holy crap, I'm old.
So Kid Rock is playing some pre-Super Bowl shows in Detroit, the city hosting the event next month...wait a second here, Kid Rock is still alive?? [MTV]
What the frig is THIS all about? Aside from a chance to mock Christianity, which is nothing new or offensive? I have my doubts as to the factual basis of this story.
Truly, a low-profile but originating band in the Seattle grunge scene of fifteen years ago, is reforming; led by singer Robert Roth and containing ex-members of Screaming Trees and Soundgarden, the band will put out a new album next year. This might seem a fearsome prospect, but it couldn't be worse than than other ex-Soundgarden effort(I'm looking at you, Audioslave). [aversion]
Lookout! Records made the news a couple months ago when Green Day made public the fact that they'd reclaimed their back catalogue(we're talking like ten years ago here) from the California label, citing business malpractices on Lookout!'s part; now The Queers have followed suit, removing their work from Lookout! and planning to reissue it all with Asian Man Records. Screeching Weasel and Avail have also parted ways with Lookout!, a label that looks like it's headed downward with no stop in sight. Yikes.
A little baseball news - because that's clearly what y'all come here for: my beloved Toronto Blue Jays have dug real deep into the wallet, to the tune of $55 million dollars, to sign free-agent starting pitcher A.J. Burnett. This on top of another huge deal to get closer B.J. Ryan last week. Now all we need is Full House alumnus D.J. Tanner and we're golden!!...............................................okay, that reference sucked. But the Jays will be a heck of a pitching team in '06, if 'you get what you paid for' has any meaning.
It's a little late in coming, but extreme congratulations are in order for Dave and Kelly Flikkema; for those just joining us, this magazine and whatever modest influence it has doesn't exist without co-founder/former web chief Dave, who moved with his wife Kelly to Australia over the summer. Their first child, a daughter named Judith Rowena Skyy Flikkema, was born last week Friday at 9:37pm Australian time, making that 6:37am last Friday morning in Ottawa.
A picture of the newest Flikkema is over here. I just about cried, myself. Congratulations, D&K. God is good. Much love.
...and one funny thing is when you post on their website, the comment goes up in Australian time, ie fifteen hours ahead! Nifty.
Aight, news time.
Florida's Seventh Star have a brand-new DVD coming called 100%; it's available for online orders tomorrow(December 5th), but won't be in stores for a while yet. Check out the trailer. Pretty slick work by the Facedown Records crew. [saveyourscene]
Coincidentally, our next bit is also from saveyourscene over in Italy: head honcho Leonardo interviewed Facedown kingpins No Innocent Victim, whose new album To Burn Again smokes. Check the interview over here.
Following what appears to be an absolute failure of a new album commercially speaking, Helmet have parted ways with Interscope Records. Seriously, aside from a brief pre-release burst of publicity when's the last time you heard anything about Helmet's new record? It could be the greatest thing they've ever done, but when no one knows about it, it's moot.
A Static Lullaby, hailing from California and having released a couple albums on Ferret Records before signing a deal with Columbia, are now done. The band played their last show right here in Ottawa(weeeeeeeird) last Thursday; they were to be the main support for Funeral For a Friend, who canceled on the entire tour in question. ASL soldiered on and Ottawa saw them headlining with support from The Reason and Ottawa's Viscera's Recital; according to my boy Ryan B, after saying that it was just time to go, ASL basically said that their sound had been co-opted by any number of bands, specifically throwing in a shot at Hawthorne Heights. Ooooh, burn. Controversy! Let it begin!
Speaking of breakups: London, Ontario's Closet Monster(one of whose members owns and runs rising label Underground Operations, which handles, among others, Protest the Hero), are calling it a day. The last show will be December 8th at the Phoenix in Toronto. [bedlamsociety]
Texas-based The Kirby(Doll House Recordings) have changed their name to Widows. Their music, thankfully, will remain the same potent mix of surging emo/indie madness; listen for yourself over here. [IVM]
Apparently a recent Victoria's Secret commercial featured a Switchfoot song in the background. Predictably, the close-minded Christians are furious. I personally hope it was 'Amy's Song' or some other ode to female empowerment that Switchfoot lyricist Jon Foreman excels at writing. That's subversion for ya.
Today's Essential Listening(with props to IVM for the tip) is Tara Leigh Cobble, a singer-songwriter who's caught me off-guard with a style that's by no means original, but certainly heartwarming, ranging from brisk acoustic-based pop to subdued quiet numbers. It sounds enough like Caedmon's Call(with a little more pop conventionality in places) that I'm instantly hooked. Check her out over here.
Eclectic(that's an understatement) Tooth & Nail favourites Showbread are going back into the studio, again with Canadian producer Sylvia Massy Shivy, and this time with a new drummer in the fold.
I booked my bus ticket to Toronto yesterday to go see this band with sweetdisaster enforcer Omnifik: check out some footage of P.O.D. live at Cornerstone Fest, 2004. Nice pyro! My good friend Ally called me from that moshpit on her cellphone just so I could hear some of it. Good times.
Some further info on Anberlin singer Stephen Christian's upcoming solo project: as well as being produced by Copeland frontman Aaron Marsh, the other players include Copeland drummer Jon Bucklew, former Dear Ephesus/current The Kicker Louis DiFabrizio on bass, while Christian himself will handle vocals, guitar and piano. If you wanna read about what the man himself thinks, visit his blog. Tooth & Nail will release the album in 2006.
We haven't done this in a while: today's Band Name of the Day: Say Hi To Your Mom. How rude/awesome is that??
Anyway. Word to your moms.
Bad Religion were here in Ottawa a couple weeks back, so those who were there will care about this; for everyone else, just consider it general interest: Epitaph Records has pushed back Live at the Palladium, BR's live DVD, to March 7th, 2006. [absolutepunk]
Doll House Recordings has graciously shipped a number of albums to sweetdisaster HQ; having already listened to My Son My Executioner(think a hybrid of The Black Dahlia Murder's raging guitar scaling, On Broken Wings' chunkiness, and a distinct lack of any attempt at singing), I can assure you: this label means business. Don't sleep.
Copeland will cover Soundgarden's 'Black Hole Song'(one of the remaining great monuments of the grunge era) for the upcoming Punk Goes '90s compilation album. That'll be an interesting take.