Hydrahead Details Champions of Sound Tour Posted by Jordan A. Baker / September 4, 2008 From the inbox:
Hydra Head Records is pleased to announce their second ever Champions of Sound US Tour. Originally conceived in 2003 and also featuring label staples and instrumental metal masters, PELICAN, this year's trek sees avant-metal pioneers KAYO DOT, supporting their latest Blue Lambency Downward, and Cave-In frontman STEPHEN BRODSKY (aka Stove Bredsky), support his psychedelic rock masterpiece that is The Black Ribbon Award. Joining the bill in major cities such as New York, Philadelphia, and Boston, are the almighty ZOZOBRA, whose latest, Bird of Prey, has been pummeling our eardrums for the past month.
Tuesday October 28th 2008 Mt. Clemens, MI Hayloft
Wednesday October 29th 2008 Columbus, OH Ravari Room
Thursday October 30th 2008 Buffalo, NY Tralf Music Hall
Saturday November 1st 2008 Allston, MA Harper’s Ferry w/ Zozobra
Sunday November 2nd 2008 New York, NY Bowery Ballroomw/ Zozobra
Monday November 3rd 2008 Milford, CT Daniel Street w/ Zozobra
Tuesday November 4th 2008 Philadelphia, PA North Star Bar w/ Zozobra
Wednesday November 5th 2008 Washington, DC Black Cat
Friday November 7th 2008 Charlotteville, VA Outback Lodge
Saturday November 8th 2008 Raleigh, NC The Brewery
Sunday November 9th 2008 Atlanta, GA The Drunken Unicorn
Monday November 10th Jacksonville, FL Jack Rabbits
Tuesday November 11th 2008 Gainesville, FL The Common Grounds
Thursday November 13th 2008 Tampa, FL Orpheum
Friday November 14th 2008 Orlando, FL The Social
Sunday November 16th 2008 Memphis, TN Hi Tone Café
Tuesday November 18th 2008 Louisville, KY Uncle Pleasant’s
Wednesday November 19th 2008 Chicago, IL Subterranean
ANTI-FLAG Announce Band Blog; Post Entires & Photos From The RNC Convention Posted by Jordan A. Baker / September 4, 2008 If there ever was a modern punk rock band fit for a band blog, it's ANTI-FLAG. The group recently unveiled There Is No War Without Warriors, and the first few posts from this month chronicle the band's "attendance" at the Republican National Convention. Along with a band diary, there are photos and videos as well.
SOILWORK Announces Headlining North American Tour Posted by Jordan A. Baker / September 4, 2008 From the inbox:
Sweden’s melodic death/thrash champions, SOILWORK, will return to North American shores once more starting in late January! After a successful arena tour with LAMB OF GOD, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE and DEVILDRIVER, followed by a direct support slot to THROWDOWN, the time has come for the mighty ‘WORK to conqueror these lands once again with a proper headlining tour. The two month endeavor promises to leave almost no stone unturned and to deliver what the fans have been waiting for over a year now, a longer SOILWORK set!
Joining them will be their good friends in DARKANE (Sweden), new-wave-of-old-school-thrashers WARBRINGER (U.S.A.), and the new kings of melodic doom/death SWALLOW THE SUN (Finland). Confirmed dates so far are as follows:
01/30/09 Penny Arcade – Rochester, NY
01/31/09 Harpo’s Concert Theatre – Detroit, MI
02/02/09 The Muse – Nashville, TN
02/03/09 Jack Rabbits – Jacksonville, FL
02/04/09 The Garage – St. Petersburg, FL
02/05/09 Culture Room – Ft. Lauderdale, FL
02/06/09 Backbooth – Orlando, FL
02/08/09 Music Farm – Charleston, SC
02/09/09 Amos Southend – Charlotte, NC
02/10/09 Jaxx – W. Springfield, VA
02/11/09 The Trocadero – Philadelphia, PA
02/12/09 The Palladium – Worcester, MA
02/13/09 The Chance – Poughkeepsie, NY
02/14/09 Crocodile Rock Café – Allentown, PA
02/15/09 Highline Ballroom – New York, NY
02/16/09 Fou Founes Electriques – Montreal, QC – CANADA
02/17/09 The Opera House – Toronto, ON – CANADA
02/18/09 Rex Theater – Pittsburgh, PA
02/19/09 Peabody’s Down Under – Cleveland, OH
02/20/09 Pop’s – Sauget, IL
02/21/09 The Pearl Room – Mokena, IL
02/22/09 The Rave – Milwaukee, WI
02/23/09 Station 4 – St. Paul, MN
02/24/09 Royal Albert Arms – Winnipeg, MB – CANADA
02/25/09 The Riddell (at University of Regina) – Regina, SK – CANADA
02/26/09 The Warehouse – Calgary, AB – CANADA
02/27/09 Starlite Room – Edmonton, AB – CANADA
02/28/09 Sound Entertainment Soundstage – Prince George, BC – CANADA
03/01/09 Pizza Club – Vancouver, BC – CANADA
03/02/09 Sugar – Victoria, BC – CANADA
03/03/09 El Corazon – Seattle, WA
03/04/09 Hawthorne Theater – Portland, OR
03/05/09 Slim’s – San Francisco, CA
03/06/09 The Dome – Bakersfield, CA
03/07/09 The Jumping Turtle – San Marcos, CA
03/08/09 The Key Club – Hollywood, CA
03/10/09 Gator’s – Farmington, NM
03/11/09 Bluebird Theater – Denver, CO
03/12/09 The Beaumont Club – Kansas City, MO
03/13/09 Diamond Ballroom – Oklahoma City, OK
03/14/09 Scout Bar – San Antonio, TX
03/15/09 Lola’s – Ft. Worth, TX
03/16/09 Scout Bar – Houston, TX
03/18/09 Uncle Pleasants – Louisville, KY
03/19/09 Volume 11 – Raleigh, NC
03/20/09 Hooligans Music Hall – Jacksonville, NC
03/21/09 Orange Peel – Asheville, NC
03/22/09 Sonar – Baltimore, MD
- The Virginia show is a day after my son's first birthday. Sounds like a nice present for surviving the first year as a Dad...
Spotlight On: MANY MEN HAVE TRIED Posted by Jordan A. Baker / September 3, 2008 Austria's MANY MEN HAVE TRIED have a mouthful for a band name, and a pocketful of influences burning a hole in their pants. Between the SHAI HULUD and STRONGARM-like guitar slinging and the breakneck percussion of POISON THE WELL, the group is a maelstrom of flying limbs and catch-it-if-you can progression. The group released a split in 2007 with END OF A SEASON on Italy's Refoundation Records. You can check out some music by the band on their MySpace page.
Members of UNDEROATH and THE ALMOST Form Audible Diversion Group; Release SAFETY EP For Free Download Posted by Jordan A. Baker / September 3, 2008 From the inbox:
Audible Diversion Group, a new audio/visual arts and music company founded by Tim McTague of Underoath, Jay Vilardi of The Almost and a Tampa Bay area based film maker Ryan Gardner, have recently been up to a lot these days. "I just wanted to start a small audio/video production collective in the beginning. The whole online/digital distribution end of things just fell into place really. I just wanted to make records and films with and help get it out," says McTague. Audible Diversion Group recently took over the Underoath and Almost online stores mainly out of necessity. "We had so much extra merch after each tour and we would pay thousands of dollars shipping it across the country to sit on shelves and one day a light bulb went off in my head and it just made so much sense to do it ourselves. We started just selling off our tour overstock but then ended up taking over the entire stores." says Vilardi.
The company has taken on only a few select additional clients consisting of Person L (the new brain child of Starting Line front man Ken Vasoli), Verdure Studio (an arts collective out of Tampa), The Glass Ocean (an Atlanta based indie regime), and Safety (a Tampa based punk/rock band). "With our main focus on audio and film, and only so many hours in a day, we've really had to be selective with who we take on. We'd rather have a smaller roster and be able to go above and beyond what they would expect, rather than have dozens of artists and let things start suffering due to committing too much to too many people. I think it's an easy trap to get caught in so we're always aware of what our end mission is." remarks Gardner in casual conversation about the companies intentions. Although the three members of ADG seem to downplay their recent additions and centralized success as "a small business made of artists working for other artists", this "small" player in the game is committed to pack as big of a punch as it can handle giving. The company recently upgraded their already capable online system with a digital download feature which enables them to sell everything from films to records completely digitally and completely free of any distribution companies hold ups and stipulations. "With our new system we are essentially a one stop shop for online distribution for artists of film and audio. There's no middle man, or corporate giant muddying the water. Anything that the artist wants within reason is possible. We have complete control!" McTague rants with excitement.
The company, alongside one of their newest artists Safety, have decided to give the bands newest release A Season of Bad Dreams away for free digitally via their online store on audiblediversiongroup. " We started this company to try and take back control of what we could within our respective genres and industries," says Gardner. "We have had a lot of support in the past few months from a lot of great people who believe in what we do and the bands we work for. We felt like this would be a great way of giving back to the people who constantly give to us, as well as really put our foot forward in support of the new digital movement." Safety recorded their 7 song EP with McTague at his home studio, and the effort was mixed by audio surgeon, Beau Burchell of Saosin. The band will be releasing a physical copy of the record in the coming months, but for now are content with spreading the gospel of Safety via the world wide web free of charge to anyone who has ears and a decent internet connection. Justin of Verdure Studio was at the drawing board for all of the art design to round out the release. " This was as close to the ADG vision as we've come so far," says Gardner. " All of the art, web design, audio recording and distribution has been all done in house and/or with our collective family." To download the Safety's "A Season of bad Dreams" entirely free, or for more information on Safety, Verdure Studio, or any of the ADG family, visit www.audiblediversiongroup.com.
MIKOTO Inks Deal With Torque Records Posted by Jordan A. Baker / September 3, 2008 From the inbox:
Orange County, CA melodic hardcore act, MIKOTO, have announced today a deal with Torque Records who will release their debut full length, We Are The Architects, on October 14th. The band - Ray Harkins (vocals), Matt Moody (guitar/vocals), Martin Diaz (guitar), Kelly Orr (bass), and Max Cuzor (drums) - have posted two songs from the forthcoming album on their MySpace page.
MIKOTO has built a fervent buzz since their inception in late 2004 with relentless touring alongside Horse The Band, Misery Signals, Saosin and Chiodos to name a few. In 2005, the band released a self-titled EP via Level Plane garnering positive critical acclaim from outlets such as Decibel ("...the band's sound, while employing popular elements like singing and screaming, defies categorization"), Alternative Press ("Not only are their hearts in the right place, but so is their musical ability... refreshing in a scene that's become watered down") and Punknews.org (4 out of 5, "Mikoto rips through these 5 songs with the ferocity of a rabid lion loose on an antelope farm"). The band didn't stray too far from their sound on the EP when it came time to write We Are The Architects. "It's an obvious extension of what the band was doing on our EP," said Harkins. "It is pretty similar, but with this record we have definitely utilized Matt's clean vocals a lot more. These songs still represent the same kind of 'sound' we've had, just a bit more well structured," added Diaz.
The five-piece recorded We Are The Architects in just 25 days with producer & Saosin guitarist, Beau Burchell (The Bronx, Name Taken, The Bled) amidst his busy touring schedule. "We would send him demo recordings online and he would listen to them on tour and give us his feedback," Harkins described the process. "Beau was instrumental in the process of getting this record together. The record would have sounded drastically different if we recorded with anyone else." In agreement, Diaz expressed, "Beau helped us look at each song as a whole and not the parts individually."
More than just an album title, Harkins elaborated, "WE ARE THE ARCHITECTS was inspired by the idea that we as individuals build, create and attempt to mold our lives into better versions of what they used to be. We wanted to visually capture the idea of each person being an 'architect' and creating their own future and destiny." Through their lyrics, the band addresses the current music scene and how it has affected them. "There are those who really are passionate about what this music scene is about and should not let the bad things outweigh the positive aspects."
Even with MIKOTO’s many options for releasing WE ARE THE ARCHITECTS, Harkins explained, "Torque was really supportive and above all enthusiastic about our band and releasing the record. They really just want to spread our name in a very organic manner." Sharing the love, Torque Records owner, Kevin Gales, stated, “Mikoto is a world-class band who has created an unforgettable record. The guys had a bunch of options open to them and we’re far beyond fortunate for this opportunity.
TRACK LIST:
1. The Hours You Keep
2. Waiting By The Docks
3. Days Run Long
4. Giving Up
5. It Was Better When No One Knew About It
6. Courage Is Just Well Concealed Fear
7. The Stage Is Set
8. Gut Check
9. Every Story Is A Ghost
10. You Won't Find My Prints
11. Silos And Smokestacks
- What's the story behind Torque Records. I hadn't heard of the label several months ago and now it seems like they're making a big splash with new signings every month or so. Who has the scoop? Anyway - Congrats to Ray and the rest of MIKOTO... this band is phenomenal.
Yahoo Football Pick 'Em Group! Posted by Jordan A. Baker / September 3, 2008 For the fifth straight year (I think), we've got a Yahoo Pick 'Em Group for our Mods Under Protest message board. All friends of Pastepunk are welcome. Here's the relevant info:
- Worth watching if for no other reason than it's the record re-release of the Troubled Stateside, in the group's native Long Island, and they play Terribly Softly (!!!) from Explosives and the Will to use Them.
Editorial Content Posted by Jordan A. Baker / September 2, 2008 I feel like I've been on tour over the past four days. Three different stops; nearly 1000 miles covered on the road; and barely getting any sleep in between. It was good to get away to the mountains for a little bit, especially the "process cleansing" of 60 hours without an internet connection and just having a lot of fun with the wife and baby (the latter learned how to chew apart the cover of the latest issue of Alternative Press - I guess he's not an UNDEROATH fan). Anyway, I'm woefully behind in wading through my music related, and several days of Punknews.org posts. We'll be back in the saddle on Wednesday.
SOUND & SHAPE Sign With Engineer Records Posted by Jordan A. Baker / September 2, 2008 Nashville rockers SOUND & SHAPE have signed to Engineer Records with plans to release an EP titled The Love Electric. A full-length is planned for early 2009. The three-piece band plays funked out power-pop/prog with nods to BLOC PARTY, MUSE, and the recently broken up MOROS EROS. You can check out several songs on the band's MySpace page.
LOOK MEXICO Put Out New Digital EP And Tour Posted by Corey Schmidt / September 2, 2008 From the inbox:
LOOK MEXICO hits the road today for a month-long tour of the U.S. The band's newly converted veggie oil-powered bus will take them westward for a week of shows in Texas and Oklahoma with Bear Colony before joining up with Fake Problems and Cobra Skulls for eight days of Left Coast shenanigans. Finally, the boys will conclude their national expedition in the Southeast playing shows with The Winter Sounds. In early October, they will take a short break before heading back out for two additional weeks of touring along the East Coast.
The national tour coincides with Lujo Records' digital release of Gasp Asp, the band's newest four song EP. You can pick it up from iTunes here.
For a limited time, you can grab a free mp3 from Gasp Asp. Check out the first track, "You're Not Afraid Of The Dark Are You?" here.
SEP 02 - Pensacola, FL @ The Red Door Venue w/ Bear Colony, The Gills
SEP 04 - Houston, TX @ The Free Press w/ Bear Colony
SEP 05 - San Antonio, TX @ The Warhol w/ Bear Colony, Through Her Vibe
SEP 06 - Austin, TX @ Red 7 (Patio) w/ Bear Colony, Old Coyotes, Ladies
SEP 07 - Dallas, TX @ The Prophet Bar w/ Bear Colony
SEP 08 - Tulsa, OK @ The Marquee w/ Bear Colony
SEP 10 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court w/ Fake Problems, Cobra Skulls
SEP 12 - Reno, NV @ Tonic Lounge w/ Fake Problems, Cobra Skulls
SEP 14 - San Francisco, CA @ Thee Parkside w/ Fake Problems, Cobra Skulls
SEP 16 - Mountain View, CA @ Red Rock Coffee w/ Fake Problems, Cobra Skulls
SEP 18 - Pomona, CA @ The Glasshouse Record Store w/ Fake Problems, Cobra Skulls
SEP 19 - Riverside, CA @ Back To The Grind w/ Fake Problems, Cobra Skulls
SEP 20 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo w/ Fake Problems, Cobra Skulls
SEP 21 - San Diego, CA @ O'Connells w/ Fake Problems, Cobra Skulls, Frank Turner
SEP 22 - Scottsdale, AZ @ Chyro Arts w/ Teejay Sundance
SEP 26 - Cincinnati, OH @ Midpoint Festival w/ The Dark Romantics, Pomegranates, Mouse Fire
SEP 27 - Dayton, OH @ The Oregon Express w/ The Winter Sounds
SEP 28 - Louisville, KY @ Skull Alley w/ The Winter Sounds
SEP 29 - Nashville, TN @ Springwater w/ The Winter Sounds
OCT 03 - Greenville, SC @ Mellow Mushroom w/ The Winter Sounds, The Dirty Eighties
OCT 16 - Auburndale, FL @ Bloodhound Bash
OCT 17 - Asheville, NC @ New French Bar w/ The Dark Romantics
OCT 26 - Virginia Beach, VA @ The Jewish Mother w/ Fake Problems
OCT 28 - Columbia, SC @ New Brookland Tavern w/ Fake Problems
OCT 31 - NOV 02 - Gainesville, FL @ The Fest
Video of the Day: THE LOVED ONES-the Bridge Posted by James Hepplewhite / August 31, 2008
You have to love all the little touches in the video, especially the Mike Sneeringer Ultimate Power Living Seminar, and the subtitle "Tools For Becoming a Handsome, Successful Human"...
HOW WE ARE To Release Posthumous Vinyl Posted by Jordan A. Baker / August 28, 2008 From the Bridge Nine:
HOW WE ARE - To Teach A Hundred And One LP
This is the twelve song full length by this now defunct Rochester, NY band including one additional unreleased track. Heavy, melodic hardcore that hits on all cylinders. Split release from Stop Whining, Start Winning Records and Secret Jams. Pre-order information to come in the next month or so. Keep your eyes open.
MUNICIPAL WASTE Shows With THE CASUALTIES Posted by Jordan A. Baker / August 28, 2008 From the inbox:
Richmond, VA thrash masters, MUNICIPAL WASTE will be joining up with New Jersey punk leaders, THE CASUALTIES to play a small number of shows around the northern U.S. this October. This tour was "over 6 months in the making" according to MUNICIPAL WASTE frontman, Tony Foresta. Plans were finally cemented during the festivities for the band's very special WASTE EM ALL performance at best friend's day in Virginia earlier this month. Running to make a plane to Norway (where MUNICIPAL WASTE will be making 2 festival appearances this weekend), Foresta said it all with a few choice words; "It's gonna kick ass."
Catch the tour that Metal Injection calls "a massacre...OF AWESOME" as MUNICIPAL WASTE and THE CASUALTIES hit the road on these dates:
October 8 - Baltimore, MD @ The Ottobar
October 9 - Philadelphia, PA @ J C Dobbs
October 10 - Buffalo, NY @ Club Paradise
October 12 - Chicago, IL @ Riot Fest
- Sweat bath mega-party 5000
A Litigation FAIL That Really Is A Whole Lot of WIN Posted by Alex Harisiadis / August 27, 2008 In what is probably a silver lining to the unfortunate result of MIDDIAN's litigation against MIDIAN, Mike Scheidt of MIDDIAN (two D's) has reformed his awesome band YOB.
YOB will be headed to the studio in the spring of 2009 with the aim of releasing the new material in the summer.
Spotlight On: CAPRICORNS Posted by Jordan A. Baker / August 27, 2008 Alex has been bugging me about instrumental "heavy arts" band CAPRICORNS all week, so I finally gave them a listen. The clincher was some press about them noting that their new release, River, Bear Your Bones, is a concept recording about the band's homebase of London. You know this whole concept record craze is getting loony when it spreads to instrumental releases. Anyway... the music is as expected, full of doom and gloom, and powerful as all hell (especially the closing moments of "Broken Coffin of the Venerable"). You stream a handful of songs from the band on their MySpace page.
- Asking you about it twice does not constitute "bugging" you all week!! - Alex
- Yea, but it's only Wednesday!
Suburban Home To Work With Austin Lucas Posted by Jordan A. Baker / August 27, 2008 From the inbox:
Suburban Home records could not be more excited about signing AUSTIN LUCAS.
I [label owner, Virgil Dickerson] had first heard of him when I picked up a split 7” with him and CHUCK RAGAN. The split inspired me to pick up his latest album, Putting the Hammer Down released by Magic Bullet/Hometown Caravan and I just fell in love. I had emailed Austin asking him to be a part of our "Under the Influence" spilt 7” series and was happy to hear that he was interested in contributing. Assuming I was waiting on his next correspondence, I hadn’t written him back for some months and then one day while talking to Mike Hale, Mike had mentioned that Austin had recently relocated to Portland, Oregon, from Praha, Czech Republic. I did not know this at the time, but Mike and Austin are good friends. Mike told me that I should give Austin a call and talk. I did just that and right away, Austin and I hit it off. Our conversation led to a few emails, which lead to a discussion of us possibly releasing his next album. Not being one to stop on someone’s toes, especially a great label like Magic Bullet, we both asked for the label’s blessing in putting out Austin’s next album and today, I am excited to say that Austin Lucas is the latest artist to join the Suburban Home family.
Austin will be rounding out the year by joining Chuck Ragan, Tim Barry, and Ben Nichols on a few dates of the Revival Tour as well as a performance at this year’s Fest. He has been writing what will be his debut for Suburban Home which he plans to record in Ohio employing his family to play and record. We hope to have this album out in March of 2009.
We are so excited to have Austin a part of our family. He has one of the greatest voices in roots music and his lyrics really cut to the core.
CRIME IN STEREO Post Song From Selective Wreckage Posted by Jordan A. Baker / August 27, 2008 From the inbox:
CRIME IN STEREO has posted the first new song from Selective Wreckage which will be available September 30th, while in the middle of their tour with New Found Glory, ISHC, A Day To Remember and Four Year Strong. The song is called "Everywhere And All The Time." Featuring ten previously unreleased songs, Selective Wreckage isn't a B-sides collection, but a showcase of how the band evolved from 2006's melodic punk outburst The Troubled Stateside to 2007's opus, Crime In Stereo Is Dead. As guitarist Alex Dunne said, "Originally we planned on doing two separate 7" EP vinyl records because they were two separate sessions. The side of songs recorded after Troubled Stateside features the 3-songs from the never-released split 7"EP with CAPITAL, another recording of "When The Women Come Out To Dance" from our free EP on Nitro and "Love," a song that never made the Stateside album which I think is better than anything on that record." Discussing the flipside of the album, Dunne says that Dead was a difficult record to make and we had to leave off some songs that were really strong - but we just didn't have enough time to finish them at the time before having to leave to tour, which was frustrating. Three of these songs are more energetic and upbeat and another is really slow and sad, but I love it." Selective Wreckage can also be seen as a document of a band evolving from growing up in the Long Island hardcore and punk scene, to a band that has transcended genres without leaving their roots behind.
Ferret Inks HELLMOUTH Posted by Jordan A. Baker / August 26, 2008 From the inbox:
[Ferret Records] welcomes Michigan’s HELLMOUTH. With nods to bands like Celtic Frost, Black Flag, Venom, Black Sabbath and Disfear, Hellmouth is drawing from its members' past while carving its own disgusting sound. Hellmouth's grim reality could only have been spawned from the likes of Detroit. With the worst economy in the country, corrupt politicians and Ted Nugent, it's no wonder the members band’s music turned out this raw and punishing. The band have sold out of their nine song demo released earlier this year and are currently writing for their Ferret debut to be released later this year. For more info please visit: myspace.com/666hellmouth
