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NEWSWIRE
MAY NEWSWIRE
IF THESE WALLS COULD SING
Metalcore act WALLS OF JERICHO just released its Redemption EP, which was produced by SLIPKNOT’s Corey Taylor. The EP is largely characterized by melodic vocals and acoustic instrumentation. The band is currently writing songs for a full-length planned for a summer release.
HOME SICKNESS
L.A.’s Cambodian-flavored psych-pop act DENGUE FEVER recently confirmed a summer tour that includes free shows on May 5 at the Santa Monica Festival at Clover Park, June 14 at a Juneteenth celebration at MLK Jr. Park in Long Beach and June 21 at the Make Music Pasadena event.
FOUR TO THE FLOOR
Electro-folk artist FOUR TET will release a four-track, techno/krautrock-flavored mini-album entitled Ringer May 6.
PIMP THIS RIDE
Automaker Scion’s in-house label, Scion A/V, recently released remixed tracks by GHOSTFACE KILLAH, 45 KING and RHYTHM ROOTS ALLSTARS. The Ghostface track “Charlie Brown,” for example, is remixed by DJ MEHDI, YUKSEK, ORGASMIC and GUNS N’ BOMBS. For more info: scion.com/#scionAV.
iHARDCORE
Hardcore label Trustkill Records — home to THROWDOWN and CRASH ROMEO —recently announced its streamlined, iPhone-friendly website: trustkill.com/iphone. Visitors can check out podcasts, download songs from iTunes and watch posted videos.
LIFE FORCE
The Rockstar Energy Drink Get A Life Tour will feature THE USED, STRAYLIGHT RUN, ARMY OF ME, STREET DRUM CORPS and include a May 7 show at the UC Irvine Bren Events Center.
RADIO’ ACTIVE
RADIOHEAD’s North American tour will include Aug. 24-25 shows at the Hollywood Bowl.
NUMBERS RACKET
Alt-country rockers OLD 97’s are scheduled to release Blame It On Gravity, their seventh studio album, on May 13. The band’s current club tour will include a June 19 show at L.A.’s Crash Mansion.
PROJEKT LAUNCH
The Projekt Revolution tour lineup includes LINKIN PARK, THE BRAVERY, CHRIS CORNELL, ASHES DIVIDE, ATREYU, HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS and ARMOR FOR SLEEP. The tour will stop Aug. 10 at Irvine’s Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre.
FEBRUARY 2008
PLAYING ‘CARD
Alt-rockers YELLOWCARD just released a digital live album, Live From Las Vegas at the Palms, exclusively through iTunes. The 10-track album features songs from the band’s latest release, Paper Walls, as well as its double-platinum major label debut Ocean Avenue.
BREATH OF FRESH AIR
Minneapolis-reared hip-hop duo ATMOSPHERE — made up of rapper SLUG and producer ANT — is scheduled to release its sixth album, When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Sh*t Gold, April 22 on Rhymesayers. The album’s initial pressing will be packaged as a 40-page hardcover book with a bonus DVD. The book contains an illustrated children’s story written by Slug.
KRIST RISEN
Former NIRVANA bassist Krist Novoselic will appear on San Francisco noise-punk band FLIPPER’s new album. The album’s producer is legendary engineer Jack Endino, who recorded Nirvana’s debut Bleach.
MEN IN BLACK
Bay Area thrash unit MACHINE HEAD received its first Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance for the song “Aesthetics of Hate.” The song, from the album The Blackening, was inspired by a neo-conservative website’s critical statements about the shooting death of PANTERA/DAMAGEPLAN guitarist Dimebag Darrell. The Grammys are set for Feb. 10.
THE DOPE SHOW
Former MARILYN MANSON bassist TWIGGY RAMIREZ [at LEFT] rejoined his old band in time for the U.S. leg of the group’s Rape of the World Tour, which includes Feb. 22-23 shows at the Wiltern LG.
ROCK YOU LIKE A HURRICANE
Geek-rockers OK GO recently collaborated with New Orleans funk/soul trombone outfit BONERAMA for charity. The two groups will release You’re Not Alone, a 5-song digital EP, available exclusively through iTunes, on Feb. 5. All proceeds will benefit New Orleans musicians struggling in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
MONTHLY MUSICIAN
Indie Kill Rock Stars will release Colin Meloy Sings Live! , a 14-track collection of performances by THE DECEMBERISTS’ lead singer’s 2006 solo tour, on April 8.
January 2008
FAB FIVE FEARLESS
Fearless Records — PLAIN WHITE T’S and SUGARCULT’s old stomping grounds — is slated to release Punk Goes Crunk in April. This compilation will feature acts such as ALL TIME LOW, THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA and HOT ROD CIRCUIT covering popular hip-hop songs.
REMAINS ENTERTAINS
Massachusetts metal-monger ALL THAT REMAINS recently launched a headlining tour featuring a Feb. 25 show at the Anaheim House of Blues. The band will be supported by CHIMAIRA, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH and DIVINE HERESY.
KOOK OFF
The sophomore album from U.K. rockers THE KOOKS, Konk, is slated for an April 15 release. The new album is a follow-up to Inside In/Outside Out, which sold nearly 2 million copies worldwide.
TALES FROM THE CRYPT
Canadian tech-metal act CRYPTOPSY recently announced a new lineup featuring vocalist Matt Mcgachy and keyboardist Maggie Durand. The band entered the studio last month to begin work on its sixth full-length. Cryptopsy is touring Mexico, Central and South America through February.
BOYS ON THE SIDEONE
Canadian reggae-rock act BEDOUIN SOUNDCLASH recently launched its first headlining U.S. tour, which includes a Feb. 6 show at the Knitting Factory in L.A. SideOneDummy labelmates FLOGGING MOLLY are set to release a new record, Float, March 4.
BIRTH DAY
A new album by Bay Area rapper (and one-half of the duo LATYRX) LYRICS BORN, Everywhere At Once, will feature guest appearances by RJD2 and CHALI 2NA. The full-length, the rapper’s first for Anti-, is slated for a March 18 release.
FOOS TO FORUM
Beloved alt-rockers the FOO FIGHTERS recently added a March 5 show at the Forum to their U.S. tour in support of their latest album, Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, released in September.
EDITS TO FETE IT
The U.S. tour by EDITORS will feature shows Feb. 9 at L.A.’s Wiltern LG and Feb. 10 at the House of Blues in Anaheim. HOT HOT HEAT and LOUIS XIV will support the English rock outfit.
December 2007
PENNY FROM HEAVEN
The new, ninth PENNYWISE album will be available as a free download in March through a special promotion by Textango, a digital music provider. To get the album, you must go to the company’s MySpace profile, (myspace.com/textango), and add it as a “friend.” Textango customers purchase music by sending a special text message, downloading from the company’s website and then getting billed to their cell phone.
INVADERS FROM MARS
A new online game based on the forthcoming album by THE MARS VOLTA, The Bedlam in Goliath, will be exclusively available at amazon.com from Jan. 2 to 29, the scheduled release date for the new record. The game, Goliath the Soothsayer, is based on the band’s real life, horrific experiences with a Ouija board owned by vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala. A trailer for the game is available at http://video.umrg.com/marsvolta/goliath_the_soothsayer/quicktime.asp.
BABY ON BOARD
A new EP from BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB, American X: Baby 81 Sessions, will be available exclusively at thinkindie.com, starting Dec. 4. The EP, which follows the Baby 81/ album released in April, will feature seven new tracks, including live versions of “Vision” and “The Show’s About to Begin,” as well as a 9-minute short film for the song “American X.”
REPEATING RAINBOW
The CD version of the new seventh album from RADIOHEAD, In Rainbows, is slated for release Jan. 1. This album was previously released as a digital download in October for which purchasers were asked to name their own price.
CRIBS RE-RIGGED
U.K. rockers THE CRIBS recently postponed their tour, which included a Dec. 1 El Rey show, until early ’08, citing scheduling conflicts.
LAST DAYS
MINISTRY, founded by industrial icon Al Jourgensen, recently announced its final world tour, slated to start in March. The band released its last studio album, The Last Sucker, in September. The tour will include April 5 and 6 shows at the House of Blues in W. Hollywood. Tech-metal act MESHUGGAH will also be on the bill.
November 2007 Newswire
NEW BLOOD
Political punk band ANTI-FLAG is currently in the studio working on a follow-up to ‘06’s For Blood and Empire. The new album is slated for a spring 2008 release. Last month, the Pittsburgh-based act released a limited-edition EP, A Benefit For Victims of Violent Crime, to raise money for charity.
KILLER ALBUM
THE KILLERS are slated to release a collection of B-sides and rarities entitled Sawdust Nov. 13. The tracks include a song from the Spider-Man 3 soundtrack, “Move Away,” and a JOY DIVISION cover, “Shadowplay.”
ICE MEN
The release of a documentary by Iceland’s SIGUR ROS, Heima, was pushed back to Nov. 20. The film chronicles the band’s series of free concerts in their native country over the course of summer 2006. The accompanying CD, Hvarf/Heim, is slated for a Nov. 6 release.
TORPEDO LAUNCH
SYSTEM OF A DOWN drummer John Dolmayan this month launches Torpedo Comics, an Internet-based retail outfit specializing in comic books, graphics novels, superhero action figures and related memorabilia. In addition, Dolmayan and SOAD guitarist Daron Malakian are working on the debut album for their SCARS ON BROADWAY side project, slated for a summer 2008 release.
ESCAPE HATCH
Due to a band member’s injury, tech-core giant DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN canceled its U.S. and European tour plans to support its new album, Ire Works, out Nov. 13.
STILL ILL
East Coast rapper NAS is set to release a career-spanning compilation Nov. 6. Entitled Greatest Hits, the album will feature tracks from ‘94’s Illmatic to ‘04’s Street’s Disciple and two new songs, “Surviving the Times” and “Less Than an Hour.”
ROCKING DEAD
The North American arena tour of OZZY OSBOURNE and shock rocker ROB ZOMBIE will include a Nov. 30 stop at the Staples Center in L.A. Zombie last month released Zombie – Live, his first live album, culled from 2006 concert performances. August Newswire
WARPED WINS
Monster Energy Drink announced its “Win Your Own Private Warped Tour Show Sweepstakes,” with the grand prize winner receiving a private concert in their hometown for 100 friends. One hundred other winners will receive a Monster ESP guitar. ESCAPE THE FATE, THE BRIGGS, AUTHORITY ZERO, STREET DRUM CORPS and THE DEAR AND THE DEPARTED are among the possible bands to perform the private show. The deadline is Aug. 31. Enter the contest at monsterenergy.com.
DEATH STARS
Stalwart death metal outfit OBITUARY is slated to release a new album, Xecutioner’s Return, Aug. 28. The band’s tour launches next month with SoCal stops on Sept. 26 at the House of Blues in Anaheim and Sept. 30 at the Knitting Factory in L.A. “Xecutioner” was Obituary’s original band name.
FIRE REKINDLED
A new HIGH ON FIRE album, entitled Death is This Communion, is slated for a Sept. 18 release. The band posted a new track, “Rumors of War,” exclusively on its MySpace page. The band will play at the El Rey Sept. 21.
BRAZILIAN WAX
Brazilian dance-pop outfit CSS recently released a vocoder-laced remix of a TILLY AND THE WALL song, “The Freest Man” from that band’s Bottoms of Barrels album. The track is available at team-love.com. Tilly is slated to begin work on a new album later this year.
SOLID GOLD
GOLDFINGER is scheduled to perform a benefit concert Aug. 3 at the House of Blues in Anaheim to raise money for a legal fund for Kevin Kjonass, who is serving a 6-year prison term connected to his animal-rights activities, which authorities describe as domestic terrorism. The charity event is spearheaded by Goldfinger singer-guitarist John Feldmann. Go to myspace/com/goldfinger4kevin for more info.
PLAYING IT BY EAR
TALIB KWELI’s new sixth album, Eardrum, features guest appearances by KRS-ONE, MADLIB, HI-TEK, WILL.I.AM and others. The album is scheduled to hit stores Aug. 21. The Brooklyn rapper is currently busy with the multi-act Rock the Bells hip-hop tour that hits the Hyundai Pavilion in Devore Aug. 11. MAY NEWSWIRE
GLOBAL GIG
AFI, the SMASHING PUMPKINS, KANYE WEST and THE POLICE are among the artists slated to perform July 7 at Giants Stadium in New Jersey as part of a “Live Earth” broadcast, a 24-hour live concert spanning the globe. Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore organized the event, which is intended to increase awareness about the dangers of global warming.
DEATH THREAT
Seminal Florida death-metal act OBITUARY is slated to release a new album on Sept. 11 via Candlelight Records (EMPEROR, VADER), its first for this label. Recording is expected to be completed June 1. A U.S. tour is scheduled to kick off the week the album is released.
BUY THE NUMBERS
The tuneful pop-rockers in THE MAGIC NUMBERS are scheduled to release Those the Brokes on July 3 on Astralwerks. The new album is a follow-up to the band’s ’05 self-titled full-length, which went double-platinum in the U.K. and earned the London-based outfit Mercury Music Prize and Brit Award nominations in their native land.
STRIPES HYPED
THE WHITE STRIPES announced that their sixth album, Icky Thump, will be released on June 19 via Third Man/Warner Bros. The release’s title is taken from the northern English expression “ecky thump” that is used as an exclamation. One of the tracks, “St. Andrew,” will feature vocals from drummer Meg White. The 13-track album will also include the band’s first spoken-word composition, “Rag and Bone.”
VALENTINE VISIT
Metalcore act BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE is swinging through SoCal as part of its North American tour to support its latest album, The Poison. The band will make stops May 17 at Soma in San Diego and May 18 at Avalon in L.A.
HIP-HOP STOP
Underground rapper AWOL ONE’s tour to support his new album with FACTOR, Only Death Can Kill You, will include a June 12 stop at the Terrace in Pasadena. The album was released last month.
March 2007 Newswire
SOLO STROKE
Albert Hammond Jr., the curly-haired guitarist for THE STROKES, is slated to release his first solo disc, Yours to Keep, March 6. The pop album features guest spots by SEAN LENNON, BEN KWELLER, Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas and THE MOONEY SUZUKI guitarist Sammy James Jr. Hammond’s solo dates include a March 6 stop at the El Rey.
A REAL SELL-OUT
For the first time in its history, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival sold out two months prior to the April 27-29 event in Indio. Paid attendance is estimated at 55,000 each day. BJORK, the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS and a reunited RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE are the confirmed headliners.
BIRD SONGS
A download-only live EP from U.K. rock group THE DOVES is slated to be released April 17. The 5-track Some Cities Live EP will feature recordings from 2005 shows in London, Dublin and New York City. Go to doves.net for details. A fourth studio album could be ready for a summer or fall release.
TIME-LY TUNES
The metalcore mavens in EVERY TIME I DIE are scheduled this month to begin recording a follow-up to ‘05’s Gutter Phenomenon with Steve Evetts (THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, DEADGUY, LIFETIME, STORY OF THE YEAR). The album is slated to be released on Ferret Music this summer.
AUSSIE POSSE
YOUTH GROUP, YOU AM I, AIRBOURNE, DALLAS CRANE and BEASTS OF BURDEN are among the more than 25 bands scheduled to make an appearance during “The Hoe-Down Under — Texas’ Aussie Music Party,” an online event scheduled for March 14 at secondlife.com. Coinciding with South by Southwest, the event is part of an effort to expose American audiences to Australian bands.
NEW YOUTH GROUP
SONIC YOUTH frontman Thurston Moore recently signed psychedelic folk act WOODEN WAND to his Ecstatic Peace label (home of BE YOUR OWN PET). The album, James and the Quiet, was produced by Sonic guitarist Lee Ranaldo and is slated for a May 15 release.
September 2006
NEW DRUG
The mascara-clad New Jersey rockers from MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE are reportedly wrapping up a new, as-yet-untitled album slated for an Oct. 24 release. The group road-tested some of the new material during last month’s San Diego Street Scene. “We all have records that shaped our childhood and teen years,” bassist Mikey Way said in published reports. “…We want this album to do that for people.”
HEIGHTS ON TOP
HAWTHRONE HEIGHTS will headline the 2006 Nintendo Fusion Tour, an annual event marrying a love of gaming and rock music. RELIENT K, EMERY, PLAIN WHITE T’S and THE SLEEPING are slated to round out the bill. The tour will make SoCal stops Oct. 24 at The Grove in Anaheim and Oct. 25 at the Wiltern LG in L.A. Go to nintendofusiontour.com for further info.
HEAD TRIP
Alt-metal pioneers HELMET are slated to kick off a new tour, which will feature an L.A. date, in October. The band’s new material is also featured on the Saw III soundtrack. Helmet’s latest album, Monochrome, was released on Warcon Records in July. Dates and venues for the new tour are TBD.
PLAY LADY PLAY
U.K. dance-rock darlings LADYTRON will kick off their North American tour Sept. 20. The group’s Sugar Tour will swing by SoCal for an Oct. 17 stop at L.A.’s John Anson Ford Amphitheatre and an Oct. 29 stop at the Glass House.
KRUSH GROOVE
Japanese minimalist turntablist DJ KRUSH is taking a unique approach to a “best of” compilatation slated for a release this fall. The mellow beat-maker has re-worked tracks from his back catalogue for a double-CD/vinyl release called Stepping Stones: The Self-Remixed Best. Krush, along with DJ SHADOW, are considered the pioneers of downtempo trip-hop music.
ESCAPE PODS
Apple Computers has forged agreements with auto makers Ford, General Motors and Mazda to integrate its best-selling iPod line of portable music players into next year’s car models.
August
FLAME GAME
Canadian rock outfit ARCADE FIRE already recorded 15 songs for the follow-up album to 2004’s Funeral, according to the band’s website. This experimental indie-rock quartet won over audiences with their eclective melding of bossa nova, noise, rock and classical styles.
RIOT GRRL INTERRUPTED
Indie-rock trio SLEATER-KINNEY are on an indefinite hiatus and has no plans to record or tour, according to the group’s label, Sub Pop. The band’s final shows include an Aug. 4 appearance at Lollapalooza in Chicago.
LAST WEEZ
There will be no more WEEZER. Frontman and primary songwriter Rivers Cuomo says that he and other band members have not spoken about re-grouping. “Really, for the moment, we’re are done,” he said in published reports. “And I’m not certain we’ll ever make a record again, unless it really becomes obvious to me that we need to do one.”
CAST A SHADOW
DJ SHADOW’s new album, The Outsider, is reported to deviate sharply from the instrumental turntable styles he pioneered with his prior sample-based releases, such as Endtroducing and Private Press. “The album is called The Outsider because I don’t fit anywhere, the DJ (AKA Josh Davis) told URB. “I don’t dabble in all these different types of music. I love all these different types of music. There’s too much good stuff out there to limit yourself.” The new album is slated for a Sept. 12 release.
SNOW DAYS
Because of frontman Gary Lightbody’s throat problems, SNOW PATROL’s June 19 and 20 performances originally scheduled for the Wiltern LG have been rescheduled for Sept. 26 and 27, according to concert company Live Nation. For those unable to attend the new shows, refunds are available at the point of purchase.
BLAZING NEW TRAIL
Texas noise-rockers …AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD have completed their new album, which is slated for an Oct. 3 release, according the the band’s website. The new album is a follow-up to last year’s Worlds Apart.
(Compiled by Roberto C. Hernandez)
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