Archive for March, 2012

March 21st, 2012 Tour Dates No Comments »

Janus Announces New Tour Dates in Support of Nox Aeris

Janus

Now that Janus’s tour with Chevelle and Middle Class Rut has come to an end, they’ll head right back out on the road for a handful of headlining shows before joining up with Cavo for a month-long trek. It all kicks off with a hometown show in Chicago at the Cubby Bear on March 28. Dates with Cavo begin April 7.

JANUS—singer David Scotney, guitarist Mike Tyranski, bassist Alan Quitman and drummer Johnny Salazar—is touring in support of their highly anticipated sophomore album, Nox Aeris, set to drop on March 27 via REALID Records (through Warner Music Group’s Independent Label Group). The album’s first single, “Stains,” has reached the Top 20 on Billboard’s “Active Rock” chart after garnering huge spins on such radio stations as WIIL (Chicago), KPNT (St. Louis), WBUZ (Nashville), WJJO (Madison), WWBN (Flint), KHTQ (Spokane), SiriusXM’s “Octane” and “Hard Drive XL.”

Janus Tour Dates
Headlining
Wed 3/28 – Chicago, IL – Cubby Bear
Thu 3/29 – Sauget, IL – Pop’s
Fri 3/30 – Tremont, IL – Twisted Spoke Saloon
Sat 3/31 – Flint, MI – The Machine Shop

With Cavo
Sat 4/7 – Battle Creek, MI – Planet Rock
Wed 4/11 – Ottawa, IL – Luciana’s Rural Resort
Fri 4/13 – Madison, WI – RSR Stage
Sat 4/14 – Rockford, IL – Bar 3
Tue 4/17 – Sioux Falls, SD – Rookies
Wed 4/18 – Kearny, NE – The Garage
Fri 4/20 – Lubbock, TX – Lonestar Amphitheater
Sat 4/21 – San Antonio, TX – Fiesta Oyster Bake Festival
Sun 4/22 – Houston, TX – Scout Bar (headlining)
Wed 4/25 – Colorado Springs, CO – The Black Sheep
Thu 4/26 – Denver, CO – Marquis Theatre
Sat 4/28 – Mesa, AZ – Mesa Riverview Park (UFEST)
Tue 5/1 – Abilene, TX – The Lucky Mule
Wed 5/2 – Little Rock, AR – Juanita’s
Fri 5/4 – Illiopolis, IL – Bunker’s
Sat 5/19 – Maryland Heights, MO – Verizon Wireless Amp (KPNT Pointfest)
Fri 5/25 – Pryor, OK – Rocklahoma

March 21st, 2012 News No Comments »

Chris Price Drops Debut Album “Homesick” on June 26th

Chris Price

On June 26, Chris Price’s solo debut album, Homesick, will be released by PTB Music. The collection’s lead single, “That’s Your Boyfriend,” will go to radio in May. While it wasn’t his original intention, Price wound up creating each and every one of Homesick’s 12 tracks—plus the corresponding videos that will appear on the deluxe edition—with an iPhone.

The endeavor began serendipitously, just after he purchased the gadget. Exploring its capabilities, Chris used his new iPhone to film himself singing a song and posted the resulting video on YouTube. Impressed by its sonic fidelity, he soon realized the digital device—combined with Little Code Shop’s 4Track Audio Recorder App—would, oddly enough, enable him to simulate the antiquated analog recording process employed by some of his favorite artists—bands like The Kinks, The Beatles and The Beach Boys.

“I wanted to make a record the way they did it back in ’64—with four tracks, no overdubs, no punching in and with complete takes,” says Price, who talks about how vintage recordings informed his use of the today’s technology.

This crisp, off the cuff sensibility perfectly suits Price’s subversive style of pop music. His quirky, cheerful demeanor brings a fresh perspective to the weighty topics explored in songs like “Suicide” and “The Last Supper.” Even when delving into more traditional subjects like romance, Price exhibits a wry lyrical approach that recalls artists such as Matthew Sweet, Randy Newman and Chris Difford. A woman pondering the long-term viability of her relationship gets a blunt assessment in “That’s Your Boyfriend” while it becomes clear that the wistful young lover of “For All We Know” is infinitely more optimistic about reuniting than the older woman he was involved with.

Throughout the proceedings, Price accompanied himself on guitar (preferring to hold it flat in his lap while playing), keyboards, bass, tambourine and occasionally drums. Homesick, which will be available digitally on May 22 (a month in advance of its physical release), also features Rooney’s Taylor Locke and Ned Brower, Lucy Walsh and a small string section. Originally from Miami, Price now resides in Los Angeles where—pressing his iPhone into service as a mobile studio—he recorded the songs at such landmarks as the Griffith Park Observatory, the Nuart Theatre, The Getty Center and the Greek Theatre (which he hopped a fence to access). He used the phone’s built-in microphone to capture everything and his friend Kyle Safieh, also wielding an iPhone, documented all the sessions. The resulting videos will be included on the deluxe edition of Homesick, but you can check out the clip for “Suicide” now.

March 21st, 2012 News, Tour Dates No Comments »

The Loom Tour Dates and New Video For “In Your Doldrums”

The Loom TeethWhen Brooklyn’s The Loom decided to make a video for “In Your Doldrums” they immediately asked the Ben Stamper to help out. His work on their previous video for “For The Hooves That Gallop and The Heels That March” perfectly captured the dark elements of the band’s sound and his new video, again, captures their intense spirit. The band is currently in the van and headed West after a string of packed shows at SXSW in support of their debut LP, Teeth.

The Loom Tour Dates
03.22.12 – Boise, ID @ Treefort Fest
03.23.12 – Eugene, OR @ Luckeys
03.24.12 – Seattle, WA @ Columbia City
03.25.12 – Portland, OR @ Rontoms
03.26.12 – Redding, CA @ Vintage Wine Bar
03.27.12 – Sacramento, CA @ Bows & Arrows
03.28.12 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
03.29.12 – Davis, CA @ Sophia’s
03.30.12 – Los Angeles, CA @ Pitzer College (students only)
03.31.12 – Los Angeles, CA @ Satellite
04.01.12 – Mesa, AZ @ Lo Fi Cafe
04.04.12 – Lawrence, KS @ TBA
04.05.12 – Kansas City, MO @ Middle of the Map Fest
04.06.12 – Louisville, KY @ TBA
04.07.12 – Harrisonburg, VA @ Macrock

March 21st, 2012 News, Tour Dates No Comments »

Greg Laswell Release News And North American Spring Tour Dates

Greg LaswellProducer, singer, songwriter, Greg Laswell just announced his 2012 Spring tour. Laswell’s dates begin on May 15 on the East Coast before heading out across North America to the West Coast and circling back around to the East Coast, ending with three shows in New York City, Washington DC, and Philadelphia. Along the way he will play shows in Los Angeles and Chicago, and many more. For a full list of complete dates, please see below.

Laswell will be touring in support of his newest album, Landline, to be released April 24th on Vanguard Records. Landline is his first album since 2010′s Take A Bow, and his fourth full-length. Laswell, a talented producer and musician in his own right, self-produced the record.

Landline‘s 11 new tracks were recorded by Laswell in a church-turned-house in a small lobstering town in down-east Maine. Laswell’s nomadic tendencies caused him to relocate from Los Angeles to New York City, eventually ending up at the church-turned-house that is owned by his wife’s parents. The album’s title was inspired by the fact that the home-recording-studio had no cell-phone reception, forcing Laswell to use Landlines for all of his calls.

The album features collaborations with a number of well-known female singers, including Ingrid Michaelson, Sia, Elizabeth Ziman (of Elizabeth and the Catapult) and Sara Bareilles (on the album’s lead single ‘Come Back Down.’) Inspired by hip-hop records that he was listening to while writing and recording the album, Laswell decided he wanted to work with and feature female vocals alongside his own. Each singer brings a new element and personality to the songs, whether it’s Bareilles’ energy that caused Laswell to re-record his vocals, or that he co-wrote the album’s title track with Ingrid Michaelson when the power went out one night.

Laswell’s songs have won over several of film and television’s top music supervisors, who have featured his songs in films such as Friends With Benefits and My Sister’s Keeper, and television placements in the season premieres of CBS’s NCIS and NBC’s Parenthood, as well as ten individual placements on ABC’s hit drama, Grey’s Anatomy.

Greg Laswell Tour Dates
May 15 – Charlotte, NC @ Casbah @ Tremont Music Hall
May 16 – Charleston, SC @ The Pour House
May 18 – Louisville, KY @ Headliner’s Music Hall
May 19 – Nashville, TN @ 3rd & Lindsley
May 21 – Atlanta, GA @ Vinyl
May 22 – Birmingham, AL @ Work Play Theatre
May 24 – Houston, TX @ Dosey Doe
May 25 – Dallas, TX @ The Prophet bar
May 26 – Austin, TX @ The Parish
May 28 – Tuscon, AZ @ Club Congress
May 29 – San Diego, CA @ Belly Up Tavern
May 31 – Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre
June 01 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom Of The Hill
June 02 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
June 03 – Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern
June 05 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The State Room
June 06 – Denver, CO @ The Walnut Room
June 08 – Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock
June 09 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas Tavern
June 11 – St. Louis, MO @ Old Rock House
June 14 – Indianapolis, IN @ Radio Radio
June 15 – Columbus, OH @ Rumba Cafe
June 16 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Tavern
June 19 – Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
June 20 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
June 21 – Washington, DC @ Rock N Roll Hotel
June 22 – Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live

March 20th, 2012 News No Comments »

Ugly Kids Club Releases Video for “Sheepskin”

Ugly Kids ClubNashville, TN electronic indie duo Ugly Kids Club (UKC)is back with another artsy video from their self-titled EP. “Sheepskin” is the latest release from the list of visuals accompanying each song on the record, which can be viewed on their YouTube channel. UKC also recently released their self-titled album on iTunes with special limited edition cassettes for the enjoyment of their vintage-loving fans.

Part-time model, Aleigh Shields, met Grammy-nominated rock producer, Steve Wilson, in 2011 while pursuing a solo career, but they soon realized they shared the same love of music and the pair have been an inseparable musical team ever since. Drawing musical inspiration from The Police, Talking Heads, Sleigh Bells, Nirvana, My Bloody Valentine and The Kills, UKC kicks some electrifying grungy rifts and fuzzy synths to create their signature sexy gritty sound. Pulling listeners in far and wide with her vocal allure, Aleigh has a knack for complementing abstract lyrics for which UKC is known. The duo, both songwriters, describe their music as being minimalistic and makes a point to shy away from excess big-band instrumentation while preserving an authentic and unique sound, similar to that of Sleigh Bells, Crystal Castles and The Kills. According to the two, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

The video for “Sheepskin” is conceptually unique in its artistic manner and features clips highlighting vintage American pastimes with just a few flashes of Aleigh and Steve. The song is ridden with the dark attitude of punk rock and is about wearing a sheepskin disguise to hide our humanistic flaws. Steve’s lower harmony to Aleigh’s sultry soprano tone adds a vigorous dynamic that effortlessly captures the essence of the song all on its own. Ugly Kids Club directorial approach is not a typical song performance but rather provokes thought on the connection between the clips and the meaning of the lyrics, cleverly leaving it open to interpretation.

March 20th, 2012 News No Comments »

McDuffie Drops Solo album as Whitejacket on April 3rd

whitejacket

Chris McDuffie’s musical career began when he was lured away from his graduate studies to play keyboards and percussion in The Apples in stereo. Despite a propitious beginning, the rigors and temptations of touring took their toll on McDuffie who was abruptly and publically dismissed from the band after blowing a tambourine cue onstage in Albuquerque.

Cast out of the Elephant 6 garden, McDuffie packed up his tambourine and retreated to Chicago where he eventually began work on Hollows and Rounds, his debut album as Whitejacket due April 3rd. While the album’s latest single “Medinah” shows the influence of Their Satanic Majesties Request and Magical Mystery Tour, McDuffie admits, “I fear the chorus may owe a little debt to The Cardigans.”

Of the song’s title, McDuffie explains, “Medinah Temple is a landmark Chicago building commissioned by the Shriners, but the name also graces at least one local auto repair shop and a beauty parlor, so I’m not exactly sure where I saw it first. Somehow it seized my imagination as the perfect name for the sort of beguiling but difficult woman I was trying to write about – a lover who simultaneously fills you with fears of abandonment and fantasies of escape.”

As for the other songs on Hollows and Rounds, McDuffie claims the influence of many obscure artists from the sixties and seventies such as Margo Guryan and Billy Nicholls, but cheerfully admits the obvious: “The Beatles are my first love. These days, I feel like indie types demand a certain literary seriousness from songwriters, but Paul McCartney’s example reminds me that a song doesn’t need to be absolutely sincere or lyrically sublime to succeed. It’s okay to occasionally indulge yourself in a silly love song.”

March 20th, 2012 Reviews No Comments »

Janus Nox Aeris Review

Janus Nox AerisIf you have a rock radio station in your area, it’s likely you got a good dose of Janus’s “Eyesore” a couple of years ago. It was a catchy single that introduced a “10-year overnight success” rock band to the masses. While it didn’t make a HUGE impact, you likely have friends that say they have not heard of Janus, but then say, “Oh, I know that song.”

For band that’s been slogging at it since 1998, that kind of small victory is one on which you can start to build a really solid foundation, which Janus has done. They released another single that got some play (“If I Were You”) and toured the living crap out of Red Right Return.

And it has paid off in spades.

Okay, so enough burying the lede: Nox Aeris is the first must-have hard rock album of 2012.

The amount of growth from Red Right Return to Nox Aeris is remarkable. While I enjoyed the former and spun it quite a bit, it was fortunately just a hint of what Janus is capable of, much of which is revealed on Nox Aeris.

This time around, Janus makes not just a musical statement, but an artistic one by issuing an album that is full of rock-solid songs that, against the odds, is greater than the sum of its parts. Sounding at once like the perfect blend of Deftones, 10 Years and old-school Tool, Janus parlays those influences into a signature sound through subtle and smart infusion of electronic sounds and the vulnerability of David Scotney’s vocal delivery.

After repeated listens, however, you’ll find new things jumping out of the mix. This is where the maturity of Janus is on full display. The riffs and progressions are far from stock. Guitarist, Mike Tyranski shows a masterful touch in knowing when the riff should drive the track and when simple textural accents can add a haunting touch that is carried by the solid rhythm section of bassist, Alan Quitman, and drummer, Johnny Salazar.

The first single, “Stains,” is already getting spins on rock radio and, for a single, it’s a good a choice as any. Other songs that could really make an impact are the hypnotic “Lifeless,” the driving “A Promise to No One,” or the heart-twisting ballad, “Always Rains.” In short, Janus has stacked the deck for rock radio. It seems that every year, one rock band breaks out big and 2012 could very well be Janus’s year. In fact, in a just world, it should be Janus’s year.

If you are tired of the rock-radio predictability of bands like Shinedown, Pop Evil, Saving Abel and the like, then Nox Aeris will be a feast for your earholes, combining top-notch songwriting and soaring vocal melodies that you’ll want to sing along to at the top of your lungs.

It drops on March 27th. You should pick it up on that day. Seriously… albums this good need to be rewarded.

March 15th, 2012 News No Comments »

Lisa Marie Presley Drops Storm and Grace on May 15th

Lisa Marie Presley

On May 15th, Lisa Marie Presley will release Storm and Grace—her first album in five years and her Universal Republic/XIX Recordings debut.

Storm and Grace is a marked departure from the hard-edged sound of Presley’s earlier albums—2003′s RIAA Gold-certified To Whom It May Concern and 2005′s Now What, both of which debuted in the Top 10 of The Billboard 200. The organic instrumentation of Storm and Grace reflects her Southern roots, from the ominous, swampy vibe of lead single “You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet” and “Sticks And Stones” to “Soften The Blows” and the achingly beautiful title track, which evoke the ease of an impromptu back porch jam session.

Presley’s alto is hypnotic in the rootsy opener “Over Me” as she reflects on being replaced in a lover’s affections. While Storm and Grace offers an unflinching examination of life and love, beginning with her own shortcomings on “Un-Break”, there is a tender, consoling thread that runs throughout, pointing towards peace and reconciliation. “Weary” may concern a relationship that didn’t work out, but it is suffused with a genuine warmth, as Presley sings: “I will always love you / you can move on, dear.”

“Just over two years ago, I went to England to attempt to write another record after finding myself in a considerably disheartened and uninspired state creatively. Over an eight-month period, I wrote 30 songs. I was fortunate to be able to write with some incredible artists and singers such as Richard Hawley (from Pulp), Ed Harcourt, Sacha Skarbek and Fran Healy (from Travis), to name a few,” recalls Presley. “Nothing was planned or contrived in any way and out of it came a very organic record that was always inside of me and that I am incredibly proud of. It was a dream come true and such an honor when T Bone Burnett liked the songs and produced and played on the record.”

“When songs from Lisa Marie Presley showed up at my door, I was curious. I wondered what the daughter of an American revolutionary music artist had to say. What I heard was honest, raw, unaffected and soulful. I thought her father would be proud of her. The more I listened to the songs, the deeper an artist I found her to be. Listening beyond the media static, Lisa Marie Presley is a Southern American folk music artist of great value,” says Burnett.

The track listing for Storm and Grace is as follows:

  1. Over Me
  2. You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet
  3. Weary
  4. Close To The Edge
  5. So Long
  6. Un-Break
  7. Soften The Blows
  8. Storm Of Nails
  9. How Do You Fly This Plane?v
  10. Sticks And Stones
  11. Storm and Grace
March 15th, 2012 News, Tour Dates No Comments »

Johnny Headband Video, Album Release Date and Tour Dates

Johnny Headband

Check out Detroit-based Johnny Headband’s dance-worthy new video for “Over There” from their soon to be released album Who Cooks For You, which drops in April 17th. Featuring brother’s Chad and Keith Thompson (you may know Keith as the bassist for Electric Six), the video was directed by Chad Thompson himself through his own Production company, Health and Fitness.

Finding an ideal window of time and an ideal, acoustic-augmenting “living room” inside a cabin in the woods of northern Michigan, they created what would become Who Cooks For You—their most fully realized work–more layers, more instruments, sonic palettes and wider scopes of sensibility, a poignant and pensive new pop thing, with brass roars and dreamy surf guitars, new mellifluous vocal belts and a dazzling swirl of synth, bass and dance-inducing drums.

Johnny Headband UK Tour Dates
May 18 The Bedroom Bar, London, United Kingdom
May 19 Manor House, London, United Kingdom
May 20 The Vic, Swindon, United Kingdom
May 22 Unplug Birmingham, United Kingdom
May 23 The Brickyard, Carlisle, United Kingdom
May 24 ABC, Glasgow, United Kingdom
May 25 O2 Academy, Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom
May 26 O2 Academy, Sheffield, United Kingdom
May 27 Sin City, Swansea, United Kingdom
May 28 The DuchessYork, United Kingdom
May 29 O2 Academy Birmingham, United Kingdom
May 30 O2 Academy Liverpool, United Kingdom
May 31 O2 Academy Bristol Bristol, United Kingdom
Jun 01 O2 Academy Oxford, United Kingdom
Jun 02 O2 Academy Islington, London, United Kingdom
Jun 03 Brass Monkey, Hastings, United Kingdom

March 13th, 2012 Tour Dates No Comments »

Last Summer on Earth Tour Dates 2012 Announced

Last Summer on Earth 2012

The Last Summer on Earth tour will features Big Head Todd & The Monsters, Barenaked Ladies, Blues Traveler and Cracker. Launching July 6th at the Toledo Zoo Amphitheatre in Toledo, OH, the much-anticipated tour hits more than 30 arenas and amphitheaters across the country.

Last Summer on Earth Tour Dates
July 6 Toledo, OH Toledo Zoo Amp
July 7 Rochester, NY Marvin Sands PAC
July 8 Dayton, OH Fraze Pavilion
July 9 Chicago, IL Charter One Pavilion
July 11 Vienna, VA Wolftrap
July 12 Raleigh, NC Raleigh Amp
July 13 Charlotte, NC Uptown Amp
July 14 Charleston, SC Family Circle Stadium
July 16 Alpharetta, GA Verizon Amp
July 17 Tampa, FL Ask Gary Amp
July 18 West Palm Beach, FL Cruzan Amp
July 20 Houston, TX Cynthia Woods
July 21 Austin, TX ACL at Moody Theat.
July 22 Dallas, TX Gexa Amp
July 24 Albuquerque, NM Sandia Casino
July 25 Phoenix, AZ Comerica Theatre
July 27 Los Angeles, CA Gibson Amp
July 28 Las Vegas, NV The Joint @ Hard Rock
July 29 San Diego, CA Harrah’s Rincon
July 31 Saratoga, CA Mountain Winery
Aug 2 Boise, ID Botanical Gardens
Aug 3 Redmond, WA Marymoor
Aug 9 Council Bluffs, IA Harrah’s Council Bluffs
Aug 10 West Allis, WI Wisconsin State Fairgrounds
Aug 11 Detroit, MI DTE Amphitheatre
Aug 12 Indianapolis, IN The Lawn @ White River State Park
Aug 14 Wantagh, NY Jones Beach
Aug 15 Philadelphia, PA Penn’s Landing
Aug 17 Bethlehem, PA Sands Event Ctr
Aug 18 Boston, MA Bank of America Pavilion
Aug 19 Bangor, ME Bangor Waterfront

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