GreyMarket announces winter tour; hometown kickoff 2/5

Hometown Tour Kickoff 02.05

Help us kick off our tour and celebrate the release of the remixed/remastered "Dauntless" on Friday, February 5, at The Orpheum. Also performing is Pilly Wete from Gainesville.

To start off the evening, local artists including Ana Briancesco will be displaying artwork throughout the venue. The prestigious DJ Rig will be laying it down throughout the evening.

Doors 8 p.m. Cover is $5 with proof of the original "Dauntless" purchase (disc, package, MP3 player, etc.) and $8 without. All admissions include the reissue!



Reintroducing...Dauntless!

Yeah, "Dauntless" was damn good the first time around. But it could have been better...and now it is.

"Dauntless Redux" is partially rewritten and entirely remixed and reproduced. All of the guitar and drum tracks have either been rerecorded or heavily tweaked.

The result is a new record based on the same songs, the result of innumerable hours of retooling, rerecording and rebuilding.

Help us celebrate the reissue at our CD release/tour kickoff show February 5 at The Orpheum (left).



Winter Heatwave Tour

We're about to embark on our biggest tour to date: 33 shows in 41 days! We'll be traveling up the East Coast, through the northern and southern Midwest en route to Austin for SXSW, then back across the South. In other words...we're coming to your town!

You know we'd love to see you. To prove our love, we've got a special offer for you. Get three friends to sign up on our mailing and receive a FREE download of "Dauntless." Whether you have the original or have yet to hear it, this reworked album will grab your ears. (I suppose you could say we're quite proud to introduce it to the world.)

UPCOMING SHOWS:

02.05 The Orpheum, Tampa
02.14 BackBooth, Orlando
02.15 Jack Rabbits, Jacksonsville
02.16 The Evening Muse, Charlotte
02.17 The Cave, Chapel Hill
02.18 Goodbye Blue Monday,
Brooklyn
02.19 MMC14/Pints, Harrisburg PA
02.20 Cousin Larry's, Danbury CT
02.21 The Space, Hamden CT
02.22 National Underground, NYC
02.23 P.A.'s Lounge, Somerville MA
02.24 The Bug Jar, Rochester NY
02.25 Lucky Dog Worcester NJ
02.26 Barfly, Montreal
02.28 Sadie Rene's, N. Canton OH
03.01 Cowboy Monkey, Champaign IL
03.02 PJ's Lagerhouse, Detroit
03.03 Penny Road, Barrington IL
03.04 Vollrath, Indianapolis
03.05 Mixtape Cafe, Grand Rapids
03.06 Cicero's, St. Louis
03.07 Vintage Vinyl, St. Louis
03.08 The Riot Room, Kansas City
03.09 Maxine's, Hot Springs AR
03.10 Jerry's Bait Shop, Lee's
Summit MO
03.11 Blackthorn, Joplin MO
03.12 Soundpony, Tulsa
03.13 Super Happy Fun Land, Houston
03.18 Chuggin' Monkey, Austin
03.22 Alabama Music Box, Mobile AL
03.23 Smith's Olde Bar, Atlanta
03.24 The Nick, Birmingham
03.26 Backstage Lounge, Gainesville



http://www.greymarketband.com
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Postdata- New Mp3, Self Titled Debut Out NOW!

Canadian Paul Murphy of Wintersleep branches out with
his brother to create the deeply personal Postdata
The self titled, self released debut came out JUST yesterday!



Press Falls In Love...


"...Absolute perfection. There’s folk music and then there’s real folk music. This album taught me the difference.....Buy this album, plug it in to your surround sound, turn off the phone, lock the doors, and cultivate the innocent and playful person you were meant to be..."
Static Multimedia

"This tune, “Tobias Grey” has a deep acoustic tone, but a wintry vocal that one can only associate with a group from the vast wilderness that is Canada. It’s a short tune, but one rich in emotion, so listen til the end..."
Austin Town Hall

For the time being, all that we really need to consider right now is that Postdata is a beautifully-realised piece of work which has set an early high watermark for anyone considering making an album of acoustic laments this year."
Charts en Grafs

"it’s a hushed collection of acoustic folk songs overlayed with spacy electronics....This is one for the morning after."
Chipped Hip

"Postdata is the raw product of the unapologetically honest words of Paul Murphy. Don’t let the band name fool you; Postdata are not your typical electronic loving affair, but rather an acoustic heavy offering with the barest of human emotion fueling Murphy’s memorable vocal melodies and lyrics"
Exploding In Sound

"Like good music should, each of these songs forces a connection on the listener..."
Hero Hill

It’s lovely, sparse, extremely gentle"
Indie Rock Reviews

"I’ve discovered the perfect soundtrack for getting lost in your own thoughts: Postdata.....I would highly recommend you search it out"
Quick Before It Melts

"I discovered a perfect album to accompany my many recent evenings of contemplation.... a collection of deeply personal songs destined for winter's slow and sleepy progressions..."
Speakers In Code

"The melodies are consistently strong, and couching them in stark arrangements intermittently enhanced by tranquil swells of distortion works. Lyrically, Postdata is a little scattershot, capable of switching from amusingly dry and personal recollections..."
Stereosubversion

"The songs sound like stripped down Wintersleep tunes, which isn't a bad thing..."
Who Killed The Mixtape

"It is mostly acoustic, with occassional swells, a collection of gentle songs..."
Berkley Place Blog

“Nick Drake meets the Red House Painters”
Billboard Canada

"Simply perfect..." 5/5
Music Is Amazing

These are the words of Paul Murphy.

You may know him from the Juno Award winning Canadian band Wintersleep and you may feel drawn to the haunted melodies of Postdata as you are drawn to the puzzling pieces of your own dreams. With questions like “Are you in outer space?” and musings about “Fallen stars in the big black belly of the Universe?” Postdata floats above the terra firma where “expired antibiotics” and “empty spray cans” inhabit the planet.

From this vantage point of dream flight an otherworldly vision of what ties us to our own gravity emerges. "In Chemicals" asks if we can be “disinfected” and“resurrected”, "Tracers" is “ten thousand pages in the wind”, “trading eyes for rocks and sand”, and "Tobias Grey" is “post it notes randomly placed”. "Drift" talks about names written in the concrete that were “meant to be read” and just as the waking world starts to creep back in "The Coroner" seems to want the listener to stay safe in reverie as the words “lie down with me” repeat.

Sometimes we have to close our eyes to see. Times like these.


What is Postdata?

These are my grandparents. They passed away two years ago and left me thirty or forty pieces of songs in a series of dreams, not Coleridge-esque opium dreams though unfortunately, just regular dreams. Kinda sad dreams. This is for them.

This is their daughter, my mother. I call her mom though, not mother. This is for her.

This is my father. Sometimes he feels left out. This is for you too dad.

This is my stomach.

This is me.

I started working on this record a couple of years ago at my parents' house in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia with my brother Michael.

This is Michael.

We had a little too much time on our hands. Some scotch too. We wanted to make a present for mom. She'd had a tough year. With little preparation (a laptop, no microphones, click tracks, or even tuners come to think of it), we recorded about 12 ideas and we went our separate ways.

Eight months later we found a free weekend in Halifax and tried the same thing, reworking a cluster of songs from the first session and adding four extra songs to the workload. We used the same laptop, but this time we rented actual, real microphones and we used click tracks for a few songs and tuners for the most part. We think. Maybe a little less scotch this time around.

Some of the songs turned out to be fuller and more mature after a second take, better than expected. Other songs maybe didn't quite hit the mark. But the recording as a whole, the half-finished, early conception somewhat fragmented material, seems to do something quite nice.

Hope you like it.


www.postdatamusic.com

Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer Announce Their Engagement!

The Dresden Dolls singer Amanda Palmer is overjoyed about her wedding engagement with world renowned fantasy and comic book writer Neil Gaiman! They could hardly wait to announce the exciting news to everyone on their blogs and we couldn't be happier for them both! Stay tuned for more from Amanda Palmer in 2010!

Cave In and Harvey Milk Release New Albums Today on Hydra Head!

Stream Cave In's "Planets of Old" here! // Stream Harvey Milk's s/t debut here!

If this is the first time you've heard anything about this project... Planets of Old is Cave In's already acclaimed comeback EP... the first new material in nearly four years! The thing is genuinely jam-packed with bona fide jammers and the like... Discernible proof that these gentlemen haven't missed a step during their absence and that music, in the general metaphorical sense, still hasn't caught up with them... Bold, but true... Watch a live video from Planets of Old here!

Previously known, to you likely too-savvy-for-your-own-good individuals, as the famous “Bob Weston Sessions,” Harvey Milk's s/t album is the official master of the band's should-have-been debut record. The thing never received a proper release, so we over at Hydra Head decided to set the record straight... Sure, you could google search this piece now that you know it exists, but remember we got the re-re-remastered version and it sounds a hell of a lot better... Plus if you purchase a copy from your local record store, you'll sleep a lot better tonight knowing that, among other things, your not a filthy liar and a dirty thief. Look out for the band on tour this March supporting Coalesce.

For more information, visit:
www.hydrahead.com

anticon. to release Son Lux's "Weapons" EP this February featuring new songs plus remixes from Nico Muhly, Polyphonic, and Alias

Classically-trained composer Son Lux (Ryan Lott) has kept busy in the wake of praise for his last album "At War With Walls & Mazes", capturing the attention of tastemakers as diverse as NPR, Okayplayer, Pitchfork and composer Nico Muhly. He will release his Weapons EP on anticon. this February while working up his sophomore follow-up. This week, Asthmatic Kitty will release multiple EPs of My Brighest Diamond remixes, one of which is all reworks by Son Lux. Lott also recently spent a good deal of time working on the upcoming These New Puritans album arranging brass and woodwinds.

Much of what gave At War With Walls & Mazes its unique appeal was Lott's central objective: to create a body of songs that inhabited the pop spectrum whilst ditching binary form (verse-chorus) for something more akin to chant. On record, rhythms and words moved uninhibited around anchoring melodies; live, this freed Lott to reinvent each track during performances, either reorganizing bits solo via piano or arranging the parts for new ensembles and instruments.

In the time since Mazes, Lott has stayed busy composing - among other things - hours of music for dance companies from New York to Paris. But for him, the chant-based concept of the Son Lux debut required further investigation. The Weapons EP is Lott's self-issued challenge to do just that - to use Mazes standout "Weapons," whose primary melody haunts various points of that record, as a launch pad for a complete EP of material derived from a single source.

To this end, Lott built three new compositions around the original's essential kernel and enlisted three trusted collaborators - Anticon artists Alias and Polyphonic, plus Muhly himself - to do the rest. The result is not only six unique reincarnations of "Weapons," but a fractal work where melody becomes song becomes cycle, with one essence woven throughout.

Opener "Weapons II" is a drumless specter of the original - a slowly cresting swell of strings that collapses in squelch just as familiarity sets in. For "Weapons III," Polyphonic leaves an indelible stamp, eroding the original's billowing percussion into a ricocheting set of Matmos-like bloops before dissolving the whole thing in a wash of warm ambience. Muhly is responsible for "Weapons IV," replacing Lott's rich sequencer melody with raw viola, isolating ominous organ tones, and weaving instrumentation through the huge, panning drums. It's a surprisingly beat- based contribution from classical's rising star.

Then, on "Weapons V," Lott steps back in. An orchestral gallop explodes into a completely reworked rhythm that pits its punk rock thrust against sweeping strings. Alias counters with "Weapons VI," where a boom-bap kit (including handclaps and cowbell) is chopped into glitchy bits that flow beneath the glacial keyboards and frenetic rap. Last and perhaps most impressive, Lott's "Weapons VII" wrangles horns, woodwinds and live drums for a six-and-a-half-minute take whose cacophony ultimately slows to an intimate, jazz-inflected crawl beguiling enough to make one forget these songs' common source.



praise for Son Lux...

"The imagery is clear, the sentiment classic, and the delivery hushed and awed. It's the sonic background that's so affecting. That twist in the combination produces odd troikas of comparison: the lyrical concerns of Sufjan Stevens circa Seven Swans, production techniques from Massive Attack, and the classical habits of Nico Muhly."
- Pitchfork Media

"There's a clean, architectural feeling to Son Lux"
-Tiny Mix Tapes

"Hallucinatory vortex of Classical, Jazz, Soul, Rock, and Electronic."
-Okayplayer

NPR 2008 Pick for Best Unknown Artist

www.myspace.com/sonlux

GET BUSY COMMITTEE SELLS $1000 12" IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS

Rap veterans eschew traditional labels, have continued success in selling limited edition products.

After selling out of their first batch of Uzi-shaped USB Flash Drives Get Busy Committee sells 12" picture discs via Kickstarter. A $1000 offer to write and record a song ABOUT one of their fans for the 12" along with a platinum plaque sells out in less than 24 hours.
Los Angeles, CA (January 21, 2010) - In November of last year hip hop group Get Busy Committee (the new collaboration between Ryu from Styles of Beyond and Fort Minor, Apathy, and producer for Snoop, Clipse, Game, Busta Rhymes and more, Scoop Deville) released their new album, Uzi Does It in a very unique format: 2GB Uzi-shaped Flash drives. The format was a hit and surprisingly the band sold through their first order of 1200 Uzis in less than three months.

Tuesday evening the band quietly released to their fans a project to fund the pressing of 500 limited, numbered picture disc 12" vinyl records via Kickstarter. Pledges to the product came with premiums ranging from a download of the EP (featuring three unreleased songs) for $5 to actually having one of the songs written ABOUT the purchaser and having the album delivered in a platinum plaque for $1000.

The band was pleased and surprised when one fan, Damon Black, purchased the $1000 package less than 24 hours from release. "We hadn't sent out a Twitter, blog post, or anything except one email to the fan list," said Ryu of Get Busy Committee. "It just goes to show, respect your fans and they'll come through for you." "We don't know who Damon Black is," commented Apathy, "but you're our new best friend. Get at us so we can write this masterpiece for you."

But the release isn't in the bag yet. If the project doesn't reach its goal of $3,218.18 (the price of pressing the 500 discs at Erika Records) the group will receive $0. Get Busy Committee is asking everyone to head over to Kickstarter now to support the project with a pledge of any amount:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1989004418/platinum-vinyl-get-busy-committees-picture-disc

The 12" will feature the song which has been featured on KROQ, 91X and other radio stations across the country, "I Don't Care About You" b/w the fan-favorite "Say Whaaat?" from Uzi Does It.

http://getbusycommittee.com/blog/

ANDREW W.K. UNVEILS - CLOSE CALLS WITH BRICK WALLS / MOTHER OF MAN

‘Close Calls With Brick Walls’ – Released by STEEV MIKE - Hits Stores For First Time in the U.S. on February 23, 2010

New York, NY – (January 20, 2009) – After three years of loyal patience, ANDREW W.K. fans can finally experience the ‘lost’ third album from the established party rocker. Previously released in Japan and Korea in 2006, CLOSE CALLS WITH BRICK WALLS will officially become available in the United States on February 23, 2010, being released by STEEV MIKE, as a special two album package (the original CLOSE CALLS WITH BRICK WALLS on one disc, and an additional CD called MOTHER OF MANKIND, containing rare and unreleased material). After the recent release of 55 CADILLAC - a compilation of improvised solo piano compositions - CLOSE CALLS WITH BRICK WALLS and MOTHER OF MANKIND deliver the slamming, inspirational music for which Andrew W.K. is loved, coupled with new sounds and feelings rarely associated with his traditional work.

Close Calls With Brick Walls was recorded in multiple sessions throughout 2004 and 2005, using the full Andrew W.K. touring band for the first time. With a full instrumental band, the new album includes exciting new performances, styles, and rhythms. The lyrics are more complex although still very playful, and Andrew’s voice has grown into something much more distinct and expressive.

The roots of the album and the changes it signals lie in the story behind the unorthodox path Andrew took to fame and, specifically, the dramatic contrast between his early years as part of a free-spirited music scene in his hometown of Ann Arbor, Michigan and the transformation in attitude and image and personality that came about after he had assumed the role of Andrew W.K..

The trademark white t-shirt and jeans he wore in public was also adopted in order to help create an easily-identifiable image. And it worked. Audiences embraced Andrew W.K. as the long-haired, straight-talking, everyman rock icon who oozed positivity and made his fans feel that not only was it OK to be different but that it was OK to be yourself and not feel embarrassed about being awkward or unusual.

In one sense, Close Calls With Brick Walls is the sound of Andrew W.K. reclaiming and embracing aspects of his personality and his music that were obscured and closed off to him by the process of generating an image and a persona that could be sold to the public. The cover of the album even suggests as much. It features an image of Andrew W.K. standing, arms crossed and dressed in his trademark white tee-shirt, in front of a brick wall that is painted a shade of indigo so dark it appears to be swallowing all the light around it. There’s a gleam in his eye and a broad smile pasted across his face. But, oddly, he doesn’t look as if he’s having fun. The entire package seems to pose a conundrum.

Since the initial 2006 release of Close Calls, Andrew’s career has certainly moved in all sorts of surprising directions. He did a lot of things that were unexpected, yet offered little in the way of explanation for behavior that, on one level, seemed quite natural and, on another, entirely unnatural. Instead of promoting and touring the album in the U.S., he went on a lecture tour as an inspirational new-age motivational speaker. He cut his hair. It grew back. He stepped out of his dirty whites and into a tailored suit to model for gentleman’s magazines like Esquire and V-Man, he produced a Grammy-nominated album for reggae artist, Lee 'Scratch' Perry, opened a night club in New York (Santos Party House) and became the host of the Cartoon Network game show, Destroy Build Destroy. He recorded a solo piano album and went on tour with a classical string quartet.

And so the story comes full circle. The world catches up with Andrew W.K. and, in return, he releases Close Calls With Brick Walls, the album that the world was almost denied from hearing by forces beyond his control. But rather than crash into walls that barred his way to make that happen, he broke them down brick by brick and then stepped on through to the other side. And where he goes from here… who knows?

For more information visit http://www.andrewwk.com/

GORILLAZ RETURN WITH PLASTIC BEACH!

The MOVEMENT offices are reverberating with the sound of Gorillaz new single "Stylo" off their forthcoming album Plastic Beach. If this is any indication of what's to come, we eagerly await its release on March 9th!

New Album Out March 9; First Single “Stylo” Available January 26;
April 18 Coachella Headline Slot Confirmed


Plastic Beach the new album from Gorillaz, will be released by Virgin on March 9, 2010.


The album is preceded by first single Stylo (featuring Mos Def and Bobby Womack) which will be available for download on January 26.

Confirming “Stylo,” Murdoc Niccals twittered, “A leak! A leak! Plastic Beach has sprung a leak! One of those Russian pirates has put a bullet hole in my island! My single's leaked! STYLO!”

Five years on from the release of Demon Days, Murdoc Niccals and co. return with Plastic Beach. The band have taken up residence, recording on a secret floating island deep in the South Pacific, a Plastic Beach HQ, made up of the detritus, debris and washed up remnants of humanity. This Plastic Beach is the furthest point from any landmass on Earth; the most deserted spot on the planet.


The world’s biggest animated band, Gorillaz formed in 1998, and have since sold 12 million copies over two albums Gorillaz (2000) and Demon Days (2005). They have hit number 1 in more than a dozen countries and picked up awards including Grammys, Novellos, VMAs and EMAs.


The Gorillaz’ return will be marked by a headline appearance at this year’s Coachella festival. The Sunday April 18 performance will be the first Gorillaz live spectacle on U.S. soil since the awe-inspiring Demon Days Live run in April 2006 at New York’s Apollo Theater.


Plastic Beach is produced by Gorillaz.


The full tracklisting is as follows:

1. Orchestral Intro

2. Welcome To The World Of The Plastic Beach (feat. Snoop Dogg and Hypnotic Brass Ensemble)

3. White Flag (feat. Kano & Bashy)

4. Rhinestone Eyes

5. Stylo (feat. Bobby Womack and Mos Def)

6. Superfast Jellyfish (feat. Gruff Rhys and De La Soul)

7. Empire Ants (feat. Little Dragon)

8. Glitter Freeze (feat. Mark E Smith)

9. Some Kind Of Nature  (feat. Lou Reed)

10. On Melancholy Hill

11. Broken

12. Sweepstakes (feat. Mos Def & Hypnotic Brass Ensemble)
13. Plastic Beach (feat. Mick Jones & Paul Simonon)

14. To Binge (feat. Little Dragon)

15. Cloud Of Unknowing (feat. Bobby Womack)

16. Pirate Jet

DIPLO AND SWITCH ANNOUNCE MAJOR LAZER TOUR, "LAZERS NEVER DIE"

CROSS CONTINENTAL TOUR BEGINS MARCH 27th IN MIAMI

UK DUBSTEP PRODUCER AND MAD DECENT SIGNEE, RUSKO, TO OPEN ON ALL DATES

Major Lazer, the cartoon musical machination of Diplo and Switch and Jamaican zombie-slaying renegade who we all learned to love in 2009, is teaching us an important lesson early in 2010: Lazers Never Die. There's no better way to prove this than by bringing their bass-thumping parties across the continent for full US tour this spring! From Miami to San Francisco, Diplo and Switch will blast their futuristic dance hall sounds into the hearts and heads of old and new fans alike.

Last year's release of Major Lazer's debut album, Guns Don't Kill People, Lazers Do, brought a round of critical applause from the likes of Rolling Stone, Spin, the New Yorker, Fader, Filter, Nylon, Paste, GQ, XLR8R, Bust, Pitchfork and was voted one of the top 10 albums of the year by the New York Times. The futuristic dancehall and digital reggae bangers have set the bar for DJs and their fans to expect a higher quality of cross continental influences in modern dance music. 2009 was just the start for Diplo and Switch's protégé, Major Lazer, and we can expect 2010 to be even bigger and better with more awe inspiring, sweaty dance floor nights to come!

Major Lazer will be joined on the road by one Mad Decent's most exciting new artists to watch out for in 2010, Rusko.

TOUR DATES:
3/27/10 Ultra Music Festival Miami, FL
3/28/10 Masquerade Atlanta, GA
3/30/10 Cats Cradle Carrboro, NC
3/31/10 Bourbon St Balitmore, MD
4/2/10 Starlight Ballroom Philadelphia, PA
4/3/10 Terminal 5 New York, NY
4/4/10 Middle East Cambride, MA
4/6/10 BoMa Columbus, OH
4/7/10 House of Blues Cleveland, OH
4/8/10 The Vogue Indianapolis, IN
4/9/10 The Fillmore Detroit, MI
4/10/10 Metro Chicago, IL
4/11/10 First Avenue Minneapolis, MN
4/13/10 Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom Denver, CO
4/15/10 The Knitting Factory Reno, NV
4/16/10 Mezzanine San Francisco
4/17/10 Coachella Indio, CA

www.majorlazer.com

Blood Into Wine Screenings Announced

Documentary featuring Maynard James Keenan, Eric Glomski, Milla Jovovich, Patton Oswalt, Bob Odenkirk, Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim begins theatrical run on Feb. 19

Jan. 22 – Blood Into Wine, the forthcoming documentary about Maynard James Keenan (front man for Tool, Puscifer and A Perfect Circle) and vineyard partner Eric Glomski’s mission to bring notoriety and credibility to Northern Arizona’s burgeoning wine industry, begins its theatrical run on Feb. 19 at select theaters across the United States.

Theaters showing Blood Into Wine:

Albuquerque
Mar. 13 – Guild Cinema

Austin
Feb. 19 – 20 – Alamo Drafthouse Lake Creek

Boston
Feb. 26 – 28 – Somerville Theatre

Davenport (IA)
Feb. 19, 21, 26 – The Capitol Theatre

Houston
Feb. 19 – 20 – Alamo Drafthouse West Oaks

Los Angeles
Feb. 25 – 28 – Laemmle Sunset 5

Minneapolis
Mar. 4 – Riverview Theater

Phoenix
Feb. 19 – Blood Into Wine Premiere at the W Hotel (Scottsdale)
Feb. 26 – Mar. 4 – Valley Art Theater (Tempe)

Salt Lake City
Feb. 19 to 25 – Tower Theatre

San Antonio
Feb. 19 – Alamo Drafthouse (The Market at Park North)
Feb. 20 – Alamo Drafthouse (1255 SW Loop 410)

San Francisco
Feb. 25 – Viz Cinema (Noise Pop Film Festival)

Sonoma
Feb. 19 – 21 – TBA (Healdsburg, CA)

Blood Into Wine was co-directed by Ryan Page and Christopher Pomerenke, the team behind critically acclaimed documentaries Moog and The Heart Is a Drum Machine). The documentary was shot using multiple Red One cameras, allowing cinematographer Cary Truelick to capture the craggy landscape surrounding Keenan’s vineyards in stunning detail. Editor Robert Beadle skillfully worked with over 200 hours of footage to help craft the story of two pioneer winemakers in an unforgiving region. Blood Into Wine was Produced by Chris "Topper" McDaniel, Ryan Page, Jason Stall, and Christopher Pomerenke.

Additional screenings will be announced shortly. The trailer for Blood Into Wine can be viewed at: www.bloodintowine.com.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND "Almost Alice"

BUENA VISTA RECORDS PRESENTS ALMOST ALICE FEATURING OTHER VOICES FROM WONDERLAND

ALBUM INTRODUCES FIFTEEN NEWLY RECORDED SONGS IN A WHIMSICAL TAKE ON LEWIS CARROLL’S WONDERLAND INCLUDING

AVRIL LAVIGNE’S “ALICE (UNDERGROUND)”

ALMOST ALICE AND ALICE IN WONDERLAND ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK AVAILABLE MARCH 2, 2010

BURBANK, CA -- January, 2010 – Buena Vista Records will release two albums capturing the wonder of Lewis Carroll’s beloved books and visionary director Tim Burton. ALMOST ALICE is a 16-song compilation featuring ALICE IN WONDERLAND’S end credit track “Alice (Underground)” written by Avril Lavigne and produced by Butch Walker. Danny Elfman composes the score for the original motion picture soundtrack. Hot Topic will issue an exclusive version of ALMOST ALICE which includes two bonus tracks. All three albums will be released on March 2, 2010. ALICE IN WONDERLAND comes to the big screen in Disney Digital 3D™ on March 5, 2010 (U.S. theaters).

The ALICE IN WONDERLAND soundtrack captures the musical landscape Danny Elfman masterfully created for the highly anticipated Tim Burton film starring Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter. Elfman has established himself as one of Hollywood's leading film composers and has written close to 50 film scores featuring his unique sound, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Milk, Chicago, Batman, Spiderman, Men in Black, Edward Scissorhands and Pee Wee's Big Adventure.

ALMOST ALICE boasts an eclectic array of recording artists with original songs based on some of the most charismatic characters in literary history, such as “In Transit” performed by Mark Hoppus and Pete Wentz. Other artists include The All-American Rejects, Shinedown, 3OH!3, Franz Ferdinand and All Time Low. “Very Good Advice” performed by Robert Smith, is the only song from Disney’s 1951 animated film “Alice in Wonderland” that appears on the collection.

Coming to the big screen in Disney Digital 3D™ on March 5, 2010, ALICE IN WONDERLAND is an epic 3D fantasy adventure starring Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter and Mia Wasikowska as 19-year-old Alice, who returns to the whimsical world she first encountered as a young girl, reuniting with her childhood friends: the White Rabbit, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the Dormouse, the Caterpillar, the Cheshire Cat, and of course, the Mad Hatter. Visit the official site for more info at Disney.com/wonderland.

The track list for ALMOST ALICE is as follows:

1. Alice (Underground) Performed by Avril Lavigne
2. The Poison Performed by The All-American Rejects
3. The Technicolor Phase Performed by Owl City (previously released)
4. Her Name Is Alice Performed by Shinedown
5. Painting Flowers Performed by All Time Low
6. Where's My Angel Performed by Metro Station
7. Strange Performed by Tokio Hotel and Kerli
8. Follow Me Down Performed by 3OH!3 featuring Neon Hitch
9. Very Good Advice Performed by Robert Smith
10. In Transit Performed by Mark Hoppus with Pete Wentz
11. Welcome to Mystery Performed by Plain White T’s
12. Tea Party Performed by Kerli
13. The Lobster Quadrille Performed by Franz Ferdinand
14. Running Out of Time Performed by Motion City Soundtrack
15. Fell Down a Hole Performed by Wolfmother
16. White Rabbit Performed by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

The track list for ALMOST ALICE was released exclusively to www.myspacemusic.com. ALMOST ALICE and the ALICE IN WONDERLAND Original Motion Picture Soundtrack will be available March 2, 2010 wherever music is sold.

Ebony Bones! Announces US 2010 Winter Tour / Plays NYC Mercury Lounge Jan 26th & Southpaw Feb. 13th / Debut LP Coming Soon!!

Click Here To Watch “The Muzik” Video

'Perhaps The Most chattered about act right now, the EBONY BONES! live experience is one part punk rock show, one part Mardi Gras carnival parade...'

‘With a truly wild wardrobe, a rocking band, and a raw sound EBONY BONES! is definitely someone to keep an eye on…”’ – Entertainment Weekly (US)

“While her world town sounds sensationalize the ear, the effect surpasses her status as a future icon and takes her into the realm of intergalactic sonic champion..” - FADER (US)

‘With obvious pop star potential and a fearless vocal that makes Annabella Lwin sound like lil jailbait, which I guess she was back in the day, EBONY BONES! is a phenomenal child of post-punk..’ – Exclaim Magazine (Canada)

‘All the right people are making all the right noises about this talented Technicolor Londoner..’ – Q Magazine

‘Her Carnivalesque Mardi Gras parade rock shows, have earned her a devoted worldwide following. It’s less of a concert and more of a theme park..” – Paper Mag (US)

‘EBONY BONES! Looks set for greatness!’ - The Times

US Tour Dates

1/26 - Mercury Lounge - New York, NY
2/4 - San Francisco, CA
2/5 - Los Angeles, CA
2/6 - Green Dolphin - Chicago, IL
2/7 - Wrong Bar - Toronto, ON
2/8 - Belmont- Montreal, QB
2/9 - Middle East Downstairs - Boston, MA
2/10 - Hudson Hotel (Fashion Week) - New York, NY
2/11 - Marbar - Philadelphia, PA
2/12 - DC9 - Washington, DC
2/13 - Southpaw, Brooklyn NY

Ebony Bones is a star. It’s as simple as that, or it can be more complex if you’d prefer. If you want to look closer, you’ll see that this south Londoner is very much a artist of our times; a self-taught bedroom musician who was among the first to share her songs over the internet, and who’s polymorphous sound reflects the pick n’ mix approach to genres the kids growing up in iTunes World have.

But really, whether you label her as the New DIY Superstar, a Kate Bush for the iPod Generation, or simply the Next Big Thing, it all amounts to the same thing: she’s a ruddy star.

Always has been in fact. Mark Rylance, artistic director of the Shakespeare Globe Theatre knew it when he spotted the then Ebony Thomas just after she’d left primary school and gave her a part in MacBeth. And the producers of TV drama Family Affairs knew it when they cast her as glamorous young Yasmin. Ebony’s problem at this stage, was that though she knew she wanted to perform, acting just wasn’t right for her.

“I was always getting into trouble on it, annoying the producers and almost getting sacked,” she recalls, “I was only 15 when I started, and I couldn’t do what I was told, which isn’t good for an actor. I’d customize all the costumes, amend all the scripts, annoy the other actors. I think that was due to realising I wanted to be an artist in my own right. I ended up bringing in a laptop to my dressing room, and made tunes on a crap version of Pro Tools.”

One of the first songs Ebony made was ‘Don’t Fart On My Heart’ which she says was “basic and silly and written as a piss take for my friends.” It was also totally brilliant, like X Ray Spex doing Nelly Furtado’s ‘Maneater’, and caused a sensation when Ebony put it up on what she says, “was then an unknown site called myspace.” Around this time she was reeling from the “phenomenal” response to the track, Ebony found herself in a pub arguing with The Damned’s Rat Scabies about the Holy Grail, and ended up doing some recordings with the drummer. Shortly after, she played her first live gig, supporting Basement Jaxx, which instantly showed her punk approach to pop: “I pulled some musician mates together, rehearsed them for half an hour and went on stage. It was amazing, just rolling around paralytic on the floor having a laugh.”

The gigs suddenly came thick and fast and Ebony Thomas the actor was left behind as Ebony Bones (‘Boney’ was her childhood nickname) the musician took over. She knew exactly what she wanted to do, or rather what she didn’t want to do: “I was sick to death of what I was hearing on the radio, it was all cheesy R n B, and boys in skinny jeans singing about suicidal girlfriends.”

She wrote ‘We Know All About U’, which worked like a 4 minute Mardi Gras, and as befitting a girl who grew up in the melting pot of London, it showed hers was a culture clash vision of glamour, streetwise attitude, and riotous fun.

The song ended up being a favourite of Zane Lowe’s Radio One show, and tours with The Slits and Julliette and the Licks followed, as Ebony began hitting Europe and the US.

“I’m totally punk and DIY, yet I really like the whole glam rock thing,” she says of her live shows, “I design all the costumes for the band, and I like glamour, not in the Girls Aloud way, but in a George Clinton or David Bowie way, where you take it to an extreme, and express yourself in clothes.”

Picking up amateur musicians to add to her band in a way that made her feel like “Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, meeting the Tin Man, and Scarecrow,” she ended up with an act which fit her aesthetic perfectly. “I wanted the live shows to be a representation of the music, which is random and slightly chaotic and manic. My guitarist’s from Japan, my drummer’s from Mexico, we’re from all over the place like a band of gypsies. It’s like a carnival going on stage.”

Word had continued to spread online, and Ebony found she was selling out shows in the US without having released anything over there. Such was her burgeoning reputation over there that last year she was asked to perform at the ‘Obama for America’ concert in New York. “We had an amazing reception, we didn’t think anyone knew about us. It shows just how powerful word of mouth can be.”

Work began on her album. Yet here Ebony encountered her first real set of problems. “Last year when it really kicked off, there was a lot of attention from major labels, and I got pushed and pulled in different directions that I wasn’t pleased with. It wasn’t me and I thought, ‘Only a fool goes into the music industry to make money.’ I realised it really had to come from the heart.”

Showing typical strength of mind she got rid of all the producers she’d been working with, and, starting again from scratch, just did it herself.

Recorded mainly in London, Ebony played most of the instruments alongside her production duties, but did allow herself to collaborate with mates such as Andrew Wyatt, one of Mark Ronson’s New York cohorts, who co wrote forthcoming single ‘The Muzik’ with her. She says, “I also created tracks on line with mates in Brazil and Canada. So it’s been a real interesting experience. With no one interfering, I’ve approached it with the innocence of a child – ‘Ooh what happens when I press that!’”

If the making of the album was childlike, the results are anything but. The first fruit of her labours, ‘Warrior’, is a sensationally confident call to arms which is someway between Adam Ant ‘Stand and Deliver’ and Kate Bush’s ‘Babooshka’ with a hefty dose of Klaxons’ occult electro. She explains, “’Warrior’ is about anyone who’s moved away from home to make things happen for themselves, or persevered through any sort of adversity.”

It’s a hell of a trailer for an album which also has songs inspired by international politics and George Orwell’s ‘1984’. It’s hardly the Sugababes then, and indeed Ebony’s clear about what type of star she wants to be. “When I grew up there were all these artists like Cyndi Lauper, Annie Lennox, Kate Bush, Grace Jones, Bjork. Every so often these women come around with music to redefine femininity, and say, ‘Hey you don’t have to be a certain way to be heard.’ I think that’s been forgotten lately.”

If that all sounds quite serious, in Ebony’s hands it’s a joy, showing the thrill of freedom of expression. The album is never less than immense fun, and is a perfect antidote to these depressing times, as she notes, “With the recession, I think people need to be entertained and have some hope and inspiration.” It’s titled ‘Bone of My Bones’ due to “the stripped down, raw feel,” though Biblical types might recognise the words from the moment when Adam creates Eve. It is sure to be the snake in the fake Eden of the current pop scene.

Ebony Bones, then is an artist of the moment, and for the future. A vibrant, wild and very human riposte to every bland, over-marketed, plastic pop princess on the planet.

Or as Ebony puts it: “I am Cleopatra reincarnated, in search of KFC.”

www.myspace.com/ebonybones

Sea Wolf Joins The Album Leaf For Winter Tour

LOS ANGELES, January 13, 2010 - Sea Wolf burst into 2010 riding the wave of one of the biggest cultural phenomena in recent memory, "Twilight: New Moon," the wildly successful vampire franchise, with original song, "The Violet Hour." This followed the release of the band's acclaimed sophomore album, White Water, White Bloom, on Dangerbird Records, as well as a national headline tour. Next month, Sea Wolf is picking up again with a new single and more touring.

On February 3, the sextet will team up with The Album Leaf for a West Coast run that will stretch as far north as Vancouver and culminate with a hometown show at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles. Sea Wolf's orchestral pop narratives will serve as a perfect primer for The Album Leaf's dreamy and cinematic soundscapes. Single, "O Maria!" will impact radio late January and Alex Brown Church, aka Sea Wolf, will be guest hosting MTV2's "Subterranean" in the coming months.

Heralded by Amazon.com as one of the Top 100 albums of 2009 and described by the Austin-American Statesman as "an eclectic brand of indie-folk in the vein of the Decemberists," White Water, White Bloom, is a masterful marriage of vivid storytelling and intricate instrumentation. Relix exclaimed: "Church and his fellow musicians craft an overwhelming sonic landscape that is almost visually palpable."

SEA WOLF ON TOUR WITH THE ALBUM LEAF

February 3 - Sacramento, Calif. @ Harlow's
February 5 - Portland, Ore. @ Dour Fir Lounge
February 6 - Seattle, Wash. @ Neumo's
February 7 - Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theater
February 8 - Bellingham, Wash. @ Nightlight Lounge
February 9 - Eugene, Ore. @ WOW Hall
February 11 - Santa Cruz, Calif. @ The Crepe Place
February 12 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Great American Music Hall
February 13 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ El Rey Theatre

SEA WOLF: www.seawolfmusic.com

BRASSTRONAUT ANNOUNCE RELEASE OF DEBUT LP 'MOUNT CHIMAERA' on UNFAMILIAR RECORDS

Debut full-length album 'Mt. Chimaera' from Brasstronaut set for U.S. release March 23, 2010 on Unfamiliar Records (Japandroids, No Gold, Makeout Videotape)

'Mt. Chimaera', the debut album of Vancouver band Brasstronaut can be envisioned as the mythological beast of its title. This record skillfully unifies genres as various as pop, electronica, klezmer, and jazz, just as the chimaera is composed of parts from a lion, goat and serpent. And they both breathe fire.

Recorded at The Banff Centre, in the Rocky Mountains, and mixed/produced in home studios in Vancouver, Oberlin, Ohio, and New York, 'Mt. Chimaera' is the first full-length release by Brasstronaut's definitive six-piece line-up. Fronted by vocalist and keyboardist Edo Van Breemen, this roster is fluent in trumpet, lap steel, flugelhorn, and the seldom-heard EWI (a breath-controlled synthesizer). But don't be mistaken, 'Mt. Chimaera' is a pop album, just one brewed with the most astonishing ingredients. This delicate balance is attained with the kind of grace that make Grizzly Bear and Radiohead at once avant garde and universal.

Album opener "Slow Knots" is the perfect summary of Brasstronaut's boundary-crossing vision. Horns tempt the melody toward total chaos but are restrained by an upbeat, finely-honed pop rhythm. Meanwhile, Van Breemen self-deprecates: "Do you really think that I betrayed you?/Honey don't you know that I'm too dumb for that?" Likewise, single "Lo-Hi Hopes" changes tempos and switches movements, while still possessing all the pace and hook of a Spoon anthem.

Elsewhere, "Six Toes" has a bounding sea-shanty rhythm and playful keyboard melody reminiscent of fellow Canadians Sunset Rubdown, but Van Breemen's lyrics keep the song out of that group's lofty fantasies and firmly planted in the real world: "We met in Crab Park, on that cold, and that snowy, December day." The orchestral sweep of closer "Insects," and the swelling horns of "Hearts Trompet" reflect the grand ambitions of this Vancouver band. Coming off an acclaimed spot at the 2009 Iceland Airwaves Festival in Reykjavik, Brasstronaut is preparing for a North American tour in support of 'Mt. Chimaera'. This includes the much-anticipated appearance at South By Southwest. Altogether, 2010 promises big things for Brasstronaut. Now is the time to get a hold of this new and startling beast.

Check all tour dates and stream brand new album track "Slow Knots" at http://www.myspace.com/brasstronaut

Past Lives announces Winter / Spring tour dates, shares new MP3

MP3: "Deep In The Valley" (feat. Hannah Blilie of The Gossip) -
http://stereogum.com/archives/mp3/new_past_lives__deep_in_the_valley_108921.html



Past Lives-the Seattle quartet consisting of Jordan Blilie, Mark Gajadhar, Morgan Henderson and Devin Welch-present Tapestry of Webs, their debut full-length release, due Feb. 23, 2010. As the summer of 2009 pooled into the fall leaves and grey wash, the group captured 12 songs with producer/engineer Steve Fisk, taking initial tracks from Seattle's Avast! studios to Fisk's home recording den for completion.

The result is an album that crawls from the primordial ooze of anti-parent culture sound to stand on newly formed legs, moving forward with carefully considered steps. Here, sibling harmonies are offered to The Wickerman death-dub, tom-toms locked in hypnotic BPM. Guitars alternate between glistening pop tones, ethereal bliss-out and raw rhythmic ruin. Throughout, each song delves deep into the blank gaze, the experience of everyday living as viewed through the tired eyes of uncertainty and doubt. It's all kinda "vibey".


PAST LIVES

1.16 - Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern
2.18 - Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge $
3.12 - St. Augustine, FL @ Harvest of Hope Festival
3.14 - Portland, OR @ East End +
3.15 - San Francisco, CA @ Elbo Room +
3.16 - San Diego, CA @ Casbah
3.17 - Phoenix, AZ @ Trunk Space
3.18 - El Paso, TX @ Dominics Piano Bar
3.17 - 3.20 - Austin, TX SXSW
3.20 - Austin, TX @ Mohawk Bar [Panache Booking SXSW Showcase ] w/ Surfer Blood, Dam-Funk, Oh Sees, The Intelligence, Turbo Fruits, Small Black
3.21 - Monterrey, Mexico - Todd P Monterrey Festival
3.23 - Kansas City, MO @ Record Bar #%
3.24 - St. Louis, MO @ Firebird #
3.25 - Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge #
3.26 - Milwaukee, WI @ Miramar Theatre #
3.27 - Grand Rapids, MI @ DAAC #
3.29 - Cleveland @ Now That's Class #
3.30 - Rochester, NY @ The Bug Jar #
4.01 - Toronto, ON @ The Garrison
4.02 - Montreal, QC @ Casa Del Popolo
4.03 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Garfield Artworks
4.04 - Washington, DC @ DC9
4.05 - Charlotte, NC @ Snug Harbor
4.06 - Atlanta, GA @ 529
4.07 - Orlando, FL @ The Social*
4.08 - Tallahassee, FL @ Club Downunder*
4.09 - Gainesville, FL @ Rion Ballroom at University of Florida*
4.10 - St. Augustine, FL @ Café Eleven*
4.12 - Wilmington, NC @ Soapbox*
4.13 - Carrboro, NC @ Cats Cradle*
4.14 - Charlottesville, VA @ The Southern*
4.15 - Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church Sanctuary*
4.16 - Baltimore, MD @ Otto Bar*
4.17 - Hamden, CT @ The Space*
4.18 - Cambridge, MA @ Middle East*
4.20 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Bowl*
4.22 - Princeton, NJ @ Terrace Club at Princeton University
4.23 - Columbus, OH @ Cafe Bourbon St.
4.25 - Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St. Entry

$ = w/ The Oh Sees
# = w/ Air Waves
% = w/ So Cow
* = w/ The Thermals
+ = w/ Get Hustle

MySpace - http://www.myspace.com/pastlivesmusic

THURSTON MOORE'S LATEST SIGNING VIOLENT SOHO ANNOUNCES WINTER 2010 TOUR

“Violent Soho live = a make out session with the devil’s daughter. In other words: good times!” – Thurston Moore, Sonic Youth & Ecstatic Peace Records

**VIOLENT SOHO ANNOUNCES WINTER 2010 TOUR **
Debut album out March 2010 on Thurston Moore’s Ecstatic Peace Records

New York, NY, January 19, 2010 – After closing out a landmark year which included being signed to Thurston Moore’s Ecstatic Peace Records, opening for Band of Skulls, Jack White’s Dead Weather, Built to Spill, The Raveonettes, and Dinosaur, Jr., moving to Brooklyn, NY and an appearance at UK’s infamous hard rock music festival Download, VIOLENT SOHO is excited to announce their current 2010 Winter Tour. Beginning January 8th in New York and finishing up February 10th in Vermont, the Brisbane Australia natives will continue to rock audiences throughout the US. Wearing their influences firmly emblazoned across their homemade fan tee shirts, Violent Soho are as honest as it gets, completely and utterly the real deal. Self-funding and self-releasing their first full length, We Don't Belong Here (a collection of demos only ever released in Australia), VIOLENT SOHO’s highly anticipated debut album on Ecstatic Peace / Universal will be available online and in stores on March 9, 2010. The band’s first single “Jesus Stole My Girlfriend” will be released digitally on January 26. The song will impact active and alternative radio nationwide on that date as well.

Violent Soho Show Details:

1/8 – New York, NY @ The Studio at Webster Hall (w/ Right On Dynamite & Royal Chains)
1/26 – Rochester, NY @ Water Street Music Hall
1/27 – Syracuse, NY @ Lost Horizon (w/ Paper Tongues & Crash Kings)
1/28 – New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge (w/ Monuments, Glint, & Majority Rules)
1/31 – Jacksonville Beach, FL @ Freebird Live (w/ Sick Puppies, Janus, & The Embraced)
2/1 – Baton Rouge, LA @ The Varsity Theatre w/ Sick Puppies & Janus
2/6 – S. Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground (w/ Sick Puppies, Janus, & Crash Kings)
2/14 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave (w/ Crash Kings and Paper Tongues)
2/17 – Salt Lake City @ The Rail (w/ Crash Kings and Paper Tongues)
3/19 – Austin TX @ Red 7 (Ecstatic Peace Showcase @ SxSW)

LIVE VIDEO OF VIOLENT SOHO AT MUSIC HALL OF WILLIAMSBURG IN OCTOBER:
http://www.ecstaticpeace.com/multimedia/violent_soho_101409_muscle.mov

http://www.ecstaticpeace.com/multimedia/violent_soho_101409_scrapeit.mov

ABOUT VIOLENT SOHO:
VIOLENT SOHO hail from Brisbane Australia's bible belt suburb of Mansfield, and their music is a reaction against everyone and everything. Their flannel and denim armor are a perfect accompaniment to the soundtrack of raging riffs, battering guitars, distorted angry vocals, and a rhythm section that threatens to flatten buildings. Luke Boerdam (Vocals, Guitar), James Tidswell (Guitar), Luke Henery (Bass), and Michael Richards (Drums) came together half a decade ago to make music that screamed from their souls and split your eardrums in the process.

Tracks like ‘Jesus Stole My Girlfriend’, ‘Love Is a Heavy Word’, ‘Son of Sam’ and ‘Bombs Over Broadway’ spit out everything that is good about the bands heavy, hard and enormous attitude - something different that is long forgotten in this disposable electro nu-age of music.

http://www.myspace.com/violentsoho
www.violentsoho.com
www.twitter.com/violentsoho
www.facebook.com/violentsoho

New Release from Johnny Cash "American VI: Ain't No Grave" On American Recordings / Lost Highway

Los Angeles, CA - January 12, 2010 -- American VI: Ain't No Grave, the sixth and final installment of Johnny Cash's critically-acclaimed American Recordings album series, will be officially released on February 26, 2010 (American Recordings/Lost Highway), the day that would have been The Man in Black's 78th birthday. As with the previous five albums in the American Recordings series, American VI was produced by Rick Rubin.

American VI is deeply elegiac and spiritual, with each song its own piece of the puzzle of life's mysteries and challenges - the pursuit of salvation, the importance of friendships, the dream of peace, the power of faith, and the joys and adversities that entail simple survival. It is an achingly personal and intimate statement, as, from the end of the line, Johnny Cash looks back on a most extraordinary life.

The songs on American VI are drawn from all over the musical landscape and from various eras, and include Sheryl Crow's moving "Redemption Day," close Cash friend Kris Kristofferson's "For The Good Times," "Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound" by Tom Paxton, Bob Nolan's "Cool Water," the hopeful "Last Night I had the Strangest Dream" by Ed McCurdy, J.H. Red Hayes and Jack Rhodes's "Satisfied Mind," Queen Lili'uokalani's song of farewell, "Aloha Oe," and the never before heard Cash original, "I Corinthians: 15:55," written over the last three years of his life.

American VI was recorded by Cash's long-time engineer, David "Fergie" Ferguson, and, as with its American V predecessor, tracked at the Cash Cabin Studio in Henderson, TN, and at Akadamie Mathematique of Philosophical Sound Research in Los Angeles, CA. Guitarist Mike Campbell and keyboardist Benmont Tench, who played on all of the series' albums sans the first one, were joined in the studio by guitarists Matt Sweeney and Jonny Polonsky, as well as Smokey Hormel, who also played on American IV and V. In addition, The Avett Brothers' Scott and Seth made cameo appearances on the track "Ain't No Grave."

Cash and Rubin recorded many songs between the completion of American IV: The Man Comes Around in 2002 right up until September 12, 2003, the day Cash passed. Songs recorded during this time frame were released in 2006 as American V: A Hundred Highways, and now this final grouping of songs, American VI: Ain't No Grave, ends the series that began in 1994 with American Recordings.

During these sessions, in May of 2003, less than four months before his death, Cash lost his wife June Carter Cash due to surgical complications. According to Rubin, "Johnny said that recording was his main reason for being alive. I think it was the only thing that kept him going."

Cash feared that American IV might be his last release, so Rubin suggested that he immediately begin writing and recording new material. Due to the artist’s frail condition, Rubin arranged for an engineer and guitar players to always be on call. “Every morning, when he’d wake up, he would call the engineer and tell him if he was physically up to working that day,” Rubin explains.

During those months, Rubin went to Nashville several times to record with Cash and associate producer John Carter Cash. After a particularly productive four days of sessions, the artist said to the producer, “Oh, this is great; please stay longer.” So Rubin canceled his return flight to L.A., only to get a call the next morning that Cash was back in the hospital. “So there was a lot of stopping and starting, based on his health,” says Rubin. “But he always wanted to work. The doctors in the hospital kind of lectured me, saying, ‘He’s not going to stop, so you have to make sure he doesn’t work too much.’”

Though Cash knew his days were short, “There was no fear,” Rubin says. “I remember speaking to him maybe an hour after June died. He had been with her in the hospital, and I’d never heard him so distraught. And he said, ‘You know, I’ve been through tremendous pain in my life, and I’ve never felt anything like this.’ It was so bad that I didn’t know what to say. He sounded so weak, so beaten, and I’d never really heard him like that before. I’m not sure where the question came from, but I said, ‘Do you feel like somewhere you can find faith?’ And when he heard that word, a switch went off in his head, and he answered in a strong voice, ‘My faith is UNSHAKABLE.’ And the conversation changed after that. So he had tremendous faith, he didn’t really have fear and he already was dealing with pain; I think he had acceptance. When he knew he was going to die, he was calm and matter of fact about it, and…that wa s it.”

"Ain't No Grave," the title track, speaks to the overall theme of the album - "Well there ain't no grave/Can hold my body down..." American VI may be his final album of new material, The Man in Black may no longer walk this Earthly realm, but through his music, thankfully, Johnny Cash is very much alive and well and living among us.

Translation Loss Label Tour To Commence Tomorrow

Translation Loss Label Tour To Commence Tomorrow

The 2010 Winter Translation Loss Records tour kicks off in Philly tomorrow! The main run of the tour features T-Loss artists ROSETTA, BATTLEFIELDS and CITY OF SHIPS, while the last handful of shows feature At A Loss Recordings artists RAISE THE RED LANTERN in place of ROSETTA. Other killer acts like Tombs, Chord and Translation Loss' STRUCK BY LIGHTNING all appear on shows on the tour as well. Get some!

ROSETTA + BATTLEFIELDS + CITY OF SHIPS
1/15/2010 The Ox – Philadelphia, PA
1/16/2010 Strange Matter – Richmond, VA
1/17/2010 Legitimate Business – Greensboro, NC
1/18/2010 Blue Nile – Harrison, VA
1/19/2010 The Side Bar – Baltimore, MD
1/20/2010 Firehouse 13 – Providence, RI w/ Raise The Red Lantern [NO Rosetta]
1/22/2010 Union Pool – Brooklyn, NY w/ Tombs
1/23/2010 O’Brien’s – Boston, MA
1/24/2010 The Haunt – Ithaca, NY

BATTLEFIELDS + CITY OF SHIPS + RAISE THE RED LANTERN
1/25/2010 Now That’s Class – Cleveland, OH
1/26/2010 Carabar – Columbus, OH w/ Kenoma, Struck by Lightning
1/27/2010 Beat Kitchen – Chicago, IL w/ Chord (City of Ships at after party)
1/28/2010 The Afterdark – Steven’s Point, WI

http://www.translationloss.com
http://www.myspace.com/translationlossrecords

Omar Rodriguez Lopez makes feature film directorial debut at International Film Festival Rotterdam in February

(Click HERE above to view trailer.)

Omar Rodriguez Lopez makes feature film directorial debut at International Film Festival Rotterdam in February

The phenomenally productive artist Omar Rodriguez Lopez makes his directorial debut next month when his feature film, The Sentimental Engine Slayer sees its world premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) on February 4th, 2010. The film was written and directed by Rodriguez Lopez.

While The Sentimental Engine Slayer is not his first venture as a director -- he also created two unreleased films, 2001’s A Manual Dexterity and 2003’s Letters from Dystopia -- it is his first feature released to the public. Made on a relatively small budget using money borrowed from a close friend and Rodriguez Lopez's parents, the cast and crew worked diligently on location in El Paso, TX to bring the project to fruition.

The Sentimental Engine Slayer tells the tale of the overdue coming of age of a 20-something misfit named Barlam (played by Omar Rodriguez Lopez). Set against the backdrop of drug-addled suburban El Paso sometime in the not-too-distant future, Barlam's awkward transition from boy to man is as much the story of struggling to find one's essence in a world of stereotypes as it is an indictment of the distorted reality of family life in the disengaged 21st Century. For a more detailed plot synopsis, please see the film's IMDB page.

Omar Rodriguez Lopez is an intensely prolific Grammy-winning recording artist whose genre-defying, fifteen-year career has resulted in some 35 albums. His seminal and critically acclaimed band, At the Drive-In, redefined popular rock music at the end of the last decade. Since that time, in addition to being both a solo artist and leader/composer/producer of the The Mars Volta, Rodriguez Lopez has produced groundbreaking recordings for the likes of Juliette Lewis and collaborated with Hans Zimmer, John Frusciante, and Erykah Badu, to name a few. In the early years of the new millennium, Rodriguez Lopez began filmmaking, familiarizing himself with the process by way of producing two unreleased films (2001’s A Manual Dexterity and 2003’s Letters from Dystopia) in lieu of any formal training. His third film, The Sentimental Engine Slayer, is the director’s debut feature release. Despite a virtually continuous commitment to the process of recording and touring with his various bands, Rodriguez Lopez has managed to complete two more films since principal production on The Sentimental Engine Slayer wrapped in 2007; El Divino Influjo De Los Secretos (2008) and Boiling Death Request (2009) are both currently in post-production.



http://rodriguezlopezproductions.com
http://www.myspace.com/rodriguezlopezproductions
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Sentimental-Engine-Slayer/208663275198?ref=ts
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1511489/synopsis
http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/nl/

Rob Zombie to Direct an Episode of CSI: MIami

AUTEUR, FILMMAKER AND ROCK MUSICIAN ROB ZOMBIE BEGINS DIRECTING AN EPISODE OF "CSI: MIAMI" TODAY,
TO BE BROADCAST MONDAY, MARCH 1

This Marks the Director's First Foray Into Television

Filmmaker and musician Rob Zombie will bring his unique style of filmmaking to the streets of Miami on an episode of CSI: MIAMI, to be broadcast Monday, March 1 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. The episode begins production today and is Zombie's television directorial debut.

In the episode, the CSI team discovers that a listening device has been covertly planted at a crime scene, capturing a terrifying soundtrack of the murder and, possibly, the voice of the killer. However, when it’s revealed the bug was planted by the team’s own Jesse Cardoza, the State’s Attorney tosses the taped evidence and uncovers accusations of evidence tampering by Jesse on a murder case in Los Angeles. With the integrity of his team at stake, Horatio Caine and Eric Delko travel to Los Angeles to dig into that murder and clear Jesse’s name. While in Los Angeles, Horatio find himself face to face with secrets from Jesse’s past and a dangerous element within the LAPD.

"As writers, we were really pushing to create an interesting backdrop that could lend to Rob Zombie's visual style," says Marc Dube, co-executive producer. "We thought opening the episode at a macabre party, with Miami attendees all wearing stylized masks (a la "Eyes Wide Shut") would be a fun kick-off point for Rob do to what he does best -- conveying the cruel and creepy underbelly of humanity."

"I am very excited to be working on a show that has such an intense and unique visual angle on the classic crime drama formula and look forward to putting my own bizarre stamp on the world of CSI: Miami," says Zombie.

A prolific musician, Zombie has multiple gold and platinum records, sales of over 15 million albums worldwide, and has directed over 25 music videos. His next album, “Hellbilly Deluxe 2,” will be released on Feb. 2nd. His re-imagining of “Halloween” claimed the highest-grossing Labor Day weekend opening ever, followed by the 2009 success “Halloween 2.” His film accomplishments also include the critically acclaimed "The Devil's Rejects" and the cult classic "House of 1000 Corpses." Zombie has made a distinct mark in the music and film worlds with his uniquely sinister point of view that has resulted in success in both arenas.

MYSPACE MUSIC REVEALS "ALICE IN WONDERLAND" SOUNDTRACK TRACKLISTING

Today MySpace exclusively reveals the soundtrack listing for the highly anticipated film ALICE IN WONDERLAND. The music from the fantasy adventure includes Franz Ferdinand, Avril Lavigne, The All-American Rejects, Owl City, Mark Hoppus and Pete Wentz, Wolfmother and many more popular artists. ALICE IN WONDERLAND stars Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter and Crispin Glover. The film is directed by visionary Tim Burton and will be released in theaters on March 5.

Visit MySpace Music "In The News" blog for the exclusive reveal of the full soundtrack listing HERE or http://www.myspace.com/music.

From Walt Disney Pictures and visionary director Tim Burton comes an epic 3D fantasy adventure ALICE IN WONDERLAND, a magical and imaginative twist on some of the most beloved stories of all time. JOHNNY DEPP stars as the Mad Hatter and MIA WASIKOWSKA as 19-year-old Alice, who returns to the whimsical world she first encountered as a young girl, reuniting with her childhood friends: the White Rabbit, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the Dormouse, the Caterpillar, the Cheshire Cat, and of course, the Mad Hatter. Alice embarks on a fantastical journey to find her true destiny and end the Red Queen's reign of terror. The all-star cast also includes ANNE HATHAWAY, HELENA BONHAM CARTER and CRISPIN GLOVER. The screenplay is by Linda Woolverton.

Capturing the wonder of Lewis Carroll's beloved "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" (1865) and "Through the Looking-Glass" (1871) with stunning, avant-garde visuals and the most charismatic characters in literary history, ALICE IN WONDERLAND comes to the big screen in Disney Digital 3D™ on March 5, 2010.

Bear Hands "What a Drag" Video and Free Mp3, 7" out 02/16 on Cantora Records

Bear Hands
'What A Drag'
February 16th

To celebrate Bear Hands will be playing Studio @ Webster Hall (US Tour dates below).



“Instant Classic” -Sunday Times

“Bear Hands make aptly grizzly indie-rock growls, resembling a hungover, vicious Cold War Kids” -The Fly

“The energetic guitars crunch with a touch of Ted Leo & the Pharmacists' edge and Rau's piercing vocals call up comparisons to another idiosyncratic ironist: Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock” -Spin

Bear Hands release their new single 'What A Drag' on Cantora Records and for one month, you can download the tunes for free!

Just when all the fuss is exploding on the Brooklyn indie art and pop rock scene, Cantora Records are ready to unleash Brooklyn’s Bear Hands US debut single, and their sexiest tune yet, What A Drag on February 16th. But this band doesn’t sound like they are remotely influenced in the least by what’s going on musically around them. They’re breaking the mold making them a truly refreshing and standout group, opening their own rift, letting everyone know there’s a new sheriff in town.

'What A Drag' will be available digitally, in addition to a 1000 limited run pressing of 7" white vinyl. Download it now for free for 1 month only and watch the brand new video for the single:

www.bearhandsband.com

It’s been nearly 2 years since singer/songwriter/guitarist Dylan Rau and guitarist Ted Feldman graduated from Wesleyan College with degrees in film and 3 years since their first uproar in a Chelsea rehearsal space with fellow band-mates drummer TJ Orscher and bassist Val Loper. This is indeed quite the natural fit with Cantora and their forward thinking, indie-pop sound aesthetic featuring giants such as MGMT, the talented Francis and the Lights and uprising starlets Savoir Adore.

It is certainly prime time to expose the fresh Bear Hands sound to the masses. “What A Drag” is their first recording using a keyboard, lending the band’s already addictive rhythm section an even more New Order-esque sound. With it’s induced tribal stomping drum beat, reverb heavy guitars, driving bass and Dylan’s soulful falsetto drop-ins, “What A Drag” contains one of the strongest hooks that you’ll be hard pressed to shake out of your head. Cale Parks takes it up a notch with his oh ‘so deep’ remix. And don’t skip the b-side “Can’t Stick Em” which contains another rigorous chunky bassline groove –booty call music for the indie-rock set!

It is with great confidence all around that “What A Drag” is that special tune that’s going to get these lads out of the van and into the tour bus, falling in love, and quitting their day jobs. However, since they all agree that “There’s a sense of urgency living in NYC and a need to create”, this foursome don’t have plans to move anytime soon. Even as they’re finishing up their debut full length album, Bear Hands will be promoting “What A Drag” along with songs from their previously self released debut, “The Golden EP” and boasting new material across the US nationwide this February leading up through SXSW.

BEAR HANDS TOUR DATES

02/16 - The Studio at Webster Hall - New York, NY
02/17 - Brillobox - Pittsburgh, PA
02/18 - Southgate House Parlor - Newport, KY
02/19 - The Old Rock House - St. Louis, MO
02/20 - Conservatory - Oklahoma City
02/23 - Rhythm Room - Phoenix, AZ
02/24 - The Loft- UCSD - La Jolla, CA
02/26 - Troubadour - Los Angeles, CA
02/27 - Slim’s - San Francisco, CA
03/01 - Biltmore Cabaret - Vancouver, BC
03/02 - Neumo’s Crystal Ball Reading - Seattle, WA
03/03 - Doug Fir Lounge - Portland, OR
03/05 - Kilby Court - Salt Lake City, UT
03/06 - Hi Dive - Denver, CO
03/07 - Jackpot Saloon - Lawrence, KS
03/08 - The Waiting Room - Omaha, NE
03/09 - Varsity Theater - Minneapolis, MN
03/1 - Lincoln Hall - Chicago, IL
03/12 - Grog Shop - Cleveland, OH
03/15 - The Old Rock House - St. Louis, MO

More Dates TBA

Bear Hands are by no means strangers to the road. With well over 150 live dates behind them covering the US, Canada, The UK, France and even Brazil they usher in new fans wherever they go, “Providing just the right amount of danceable anthems to transform the crowd from an intrigued gathering into an all singing, all shaking disco party.” -RockSound

They’ve toured and shared the stage with such luminaries as MGMT, Vampire Weekend, Passion Pit, Hockey, Ra Ra Riot, Ambulance Ltd, Cursive, Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, Le Savy Fav, Obits, We Are Scientists, Airborne Toxic Event, Razorlight, Manic Street Preachers, Matt & Kim, Francis and the Lights, Manchester Orchestra, Imperial Teen, Cale Parks, The Honorary Title, Ghostland Observatory, The Antlers, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson and have played in front of thousands at festivals such as Reading, Leads, Siren and Rockness.

In support of Too Pure’s single club release of What A Drag, Bear Hands toured the UK with Passion Pit and Hockey and have since toured the UK twice. The single was pegged by the Sunday Times and numerous others as “Hottest Downloads” and “Instant Classic” receiving airplay on both BBC Radio 1 and NME Radio A Listed.

There’s truth to be said by the NME who tagged Bear Hands as “The newest hardest working band in NY, they might just be one of the best”.

While guitarist Ted Feldman just finished directing their video for 'What A Drag', which you can watch on their website, next steps for Bear Hands: they'll have a tune on NYC’s Webster Hall’s compilation and will be hitting the dirt on a nationwide tour including some slamming sxsw sets to be had. After this they’re setting their sights on being among the first to purchase that ocean front view on the moon. Over and out.

www.myspace.com/bearhandsband

“Bear Hands adds complexity and rounds out the more straightforward rock with some melancholy minor chord unease...riveting, devil-may-care rock." -Spin.com

”Bear Hands prove they have everything it takes to make it massive.” -Rock Sound

“ace cacophony of raucous guitars and spluttered vocals” -The Fly

“The newest hardest-working band (Bear Hands) in New York might just be one of the best” -NME

"For the past month, we've been telling everyone within earshot about Bear Hands, an unsigned up-and-comer out of Brooklyn that should be on the radar of every indie label." -Entertainment Weekly

"tightly orchestrated, rhythmically inventive sound" -CMJ

“A throwback to Slanted and Enchanted Pavement with the lazy half-hook grunge alternating with Weezer circa Pinkerton. This band is getting a lot of buzz with labels so expect to see them come out with a full length..." -Deli Magazine

"..While hints of lo-fi indie and post-punk v2.o float about on their debut, the songs catch fire from their own spark. No grungy depression or post-millennial anxiety, just solid tunes.." -Alternative Press
“Seeing the progress they made in such a short amount of time, I have a feeling the buzz around this band is only beginning." -Absolutepunk.net

"This is a melodic, guitar driven band that sounds perhaps like a less spastic Detachment Kit. Anyway, I'm putting these guys on my "band to watch" list. I want to hear and see more, for sure." -ohmyrockness.com "I don’t mean to get all stupid and bloggy up in this piece, placing lofty expectations on such a young band, but I can’t help getting over-the-moon excited about their infectious, complex take on what I think can best be described as post-punk." -The L magazine

"Stylish local indie-rock foursome with sinewy postpunk rhythms." -Time Out New York

“Live the young Brooklyn quartet enthusiastically trumps seasoned elders, forcing the most jaded NYC concertgoers to uncross their arms." -Flavorpill

“…the group you wish you were in.” -NME

“best new band” -Artrocker

“spectacular.” -Billboard

The Silent League gets remixed by Memory Tapes, announces US tour dates

The Silent League gets remixed by Memory Tapes, announces US tour dates

MP3: "Yours Truly, 2095" (Memory Tapes Remix) -
http://pitchfork.com/forkcast/13735-yours-truly-2095-memory-tapes-remix/

MP3: "Yours Truly, 2095" (album version) -
http://pitchfork.com/forkcast/13735-yours-truly-2095-memory-tapes-remix/


The Silent League is a difficult band to trace. Formed in 2004 in Brooklyn by Justin Russo (at the time, keyboardist for Mercury Rev during the classic Deserter's Songs / All is Dream era), The Silent League may sometimes appear like an on-again/off-again relationship between a collective of musicians interested only in periodically making records, playing shows, and disappearing again. This may be true. While nobody in New York ever seems quite sure whether or not the band still exists (their second record, Of Stars And Other Somebodies was never even released in N. America, and is due for re-release), the name carries weight all over the city. Lay tracks through the past 5-6 years' worth of new music (take Arcade Fire, Beirut, St. Vincent, Stars Like Fleas, Bishop Allen...) and you're going to run over more than a handful of people who began with or spent time creating music under the name The Silent League...many of them still do, you just don't know it. "We don't really care about maintaining a place in the industry. There is enough noise in the world and everyone has other work to busy themselves with", says Russo, "we try to keep it new, detached...we make music when we think we have something to say that isn't already being said".

NEW ALBUM
The Silent League is releasing a new record, it's third, in Feb 2010, ..But You've Always Been The Caretaker. This time with the idiosyncratic producer, and band-member, Shannon Fields at the helm (founder and producer of the unclassifiable Brooklyn collective Stars Like Fleas, and whose musical credits include Helado Negro, Miho Hatori, Doveman, and many projects that ignore rock and pop altogether), the band spent time at various upstate farmhouse studios with recording and mixing engineer D. James Goodwin (Scary Mansion, The Bravery) crafting a somewhat different record. More explicit is the group's affection for the soft rock and artrock power ballads of the 70s (the group initially bonded over a common love of ELO, Todd Rundgren, Roxy Music and Bread), but the moodier and more unhinged qualities that have always been subtexts in the band's music have been pushed forward. It is an evocative, jarring, sometimes disturbing and densely woven record that seems nearly to ignore contemporary indierock but which sounds very little like its antecedents or any obvious contemporary reference points. Rather than chasing the endlessly tiresome "reinvention of rock", The Silent League, with one foot in sterling songcraft and the other in the Brooklyn diaspora, has sculpted stunningly fresh new music with the decapitated pieces of rock's MOR family tree.

THE PAST
For a band that disappears for long stretches of time and has never properly toured, browsing The Silent League's prior press clippings and live show history will show a band that has always held fascination by its peers. The prior two records have been praised by The Guardian, The Times, The Independent, NME, Q, Mojo, Uncut, Rolling Stone, Spin, The New York Times, Village Voice, Blender, Salon.com, etc). The Silent League has performed live supporting a broad range of artists, including Interpol, Los Campesinos!, Echo & The Bunnymen, Bloc Party, Le Loup, Patrick Wolf, Jens Lekman, The National, Sufjan Stevens, Rufus Wainwright, Bear in Heaven, etc.


THE SILENT LEAGUE
01/16 - New York, NY Blender Theater at Gramercy &

01/30 - Syracuse, NY Westcott Theatre ^
02/01 - Washington, DC DC9
02/03 - Nashville, TN The Basement %
02/05 - Gainsville, FL The Atlantic %
02/06 - Jacksonville, FL The Sinclair %
03/17-03/20 - Austin, TX SXSW

^ = w/ Dr. Dog
# = w/ New Numbers
& = RECORD RELEASE SHOW!!! w/ Elefant
% = w/ The Paper Hats

MySpace - http://www.myspace.com/thesilentleague

Gin Wigmore backed by the Cardinals, "Holy Smoke" Out 3/16

And a heads up to the LA area, Gin will be in town Jan 20th-28th filming the video for the first single "Too Late For Lovers" off her upcoming album, which you can listen to HERE

“Her voice is quirky and intoxicating, her tunes fun and charming” – Perez Hilton

“Make mine a Gin Wigmore … Smart songs that would work in a coffee house or an arena” – New York Post


New Zealand sensation Gin Wigmore is set to make her Stateside debut in March 16, 2010 with her first album Holy Smoke. The records is set to be released on Universal Motown Records , this legendary label being the perfect home for this soulful lady. Recorded in Los Angeles at the legendary Capitol Studios, Holy Smoke in it's entirety features Ryan Adams' former band the Cardinals.

Already an accomplished songwriter, Gin won the U.S.-based International Songwriting Contest at 16 years old, making her the competition’s youngest winner in the history of the competition. Three years later, she released her critically acclaimed debut EP in her native New Zealand and was signed to Universal Motown Records in August 2008. The first single off Holy Smoke, “Too Late For Lovers,” is a gospel-tinged, soul-stirring rocker sure to catch the attention of anyone listening.

FIGHT THE QUIET TO RELEASE BEST MATERIAL YET

FIGHT THE QUIET TO RELEASE BEST MATERIAL YET
Arizona Rock Band’s Let Me In Produced By Industry Veteran Stephen Short

Flagstaff, AZ—Rock band Fight The Quiet is returning with their third album, Let Me In, a set of brand new songs (due out March 2, 2010) that showcase the group’s knack for soaring melodies and riveting hooks, as well as the heart of a young band with unlimited potential. Brought in to tap into that potential was industry veteran and two-time Grammy-winning producer Stephen Short (Augustana, This World Fair).

“The journey that Stephen began to take us on was more of self-discovery than I expected,” said front man Nathan James. “The goal was to find an identity within the group.”

For that “self-discovery, Fight the Quiet wrote about 40 songs, many of which they cut with Short, and some that they recorded on their own. Six of those songs are what ultimately made it to this recording, representing the best of the best of Fight the Quiet’s newfound identity. And what Fight the Quiet delivers on Let Me In is more than just a catchy verse and chorus within each song. “We were committed to creating something accessible to all listeners,” Nathan said. “And I believe we have held true to that commitment.”

Fight the Quiet was founded in 2004 by James (vocals/guitar) and Tim Dohse (bass/backing vocals), while Nathan was still a senior in high school. The band then officially emerged in 2006 with their debut album, Lessons in Vanity, which instantly garnered radio airplay on 300 stations, and had songs featured on MTV’s The Real World, Road Rules, and RWRR Challenge; as well as for SBK ’07 for Xbox 360.

This instant success led to showcase opportunities as Fight the Quiet performed at Summerfest in 2006 with Jacks Mannequin; at Santa Fe Muzik Fest in 2007 and Aspen Ave. Music Festival in 2008 as headliners; and at the Red Gorilla Fest during SXSW in 2006 and 2007. After adding guitarist Chris Wargo in 2006, Fight the Quiet recorded and released The Porcelain EP, and the lead single from the EP was featured on Clear Channel’s NEW! Program.

In addition, helping to shape the unique sound of Fight the Quiet is their extremely wide range of influences, from hard edged alternative like Jimmy Eat World, Foo Fighters and Saosin to heavier (Finch, Underoath) to more pop (Blink 182, The Killers) to more laid back (Death Cab For Cutie) while also paying homage to classic acts like U2, Guns ‘N’ Roses and The Beatles.

And like some of those acts, Fight the Quiet is looking at its goals in long-term fashion. ”Our desire with this album is to have a piece of work that, when people hear it, they know that we aren't going to disappear any time soon,” says Nathan. “We're in this for the long run and I guess you could call Let Me In our resume. It's time to take it to the next level.”

For more information, please visit www.fightthequiet.com

Introducing Gobotron

GOBOTRON
ON YOUR MARK, GET SET... TO BE RELEASED DIGITALLY ON JAN. 19

MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA GUITARIST
ROBERT MCDOWELL'S
1st SOLO ALBUM



On January 19th, the debut album from Gobotron, the solo project of guitarist Robert McDowell of Manchester Orchestra, will be released digitally via Favorite Gentlemen Recordings. A personal pet project two years in the making, ON YOUR MARK, GET SET... is a purposeful blend of blown out distortion mixed with saccharine sweet poppy hooks and choruses that will make fans of bands like The Lemonheads pucker up for joy.

Gobotron started in the summer of 2008 in the basement of Robert McDowell's parent's house in Atlanta, Georgia. Manchester Orchestra was off the road and McDowell was anxious to creatively move in a new direction aside from working with the band. "I had been a bit lazy when we got off tour. I wasn't recording or writing at all then, so I went to Guitar Center and got a little MIDI controller and just started messing around," he said. "I didn't even really tell anyone I was doing the album until it was done. It was just me alone in my parent's basement."

ON YOUR MARK, GET SET... is a true one-man army of an album with McDowell doing all of the writing, playing and recording himself. Mixed and mastered a full year later in the summer of 2009, he's been busy circling the world the past year with Manchester Orchestra in support of their critically acclaimed sophomore effort Mean Everything To Nothing. "Once I was done creating the album in 2008, Manchester Orchestra went directly into pre-production for our new album. It wasn't until the next summer that I was even able to start mixing Gobotron," McDowell states. "It was nice to be able to work on this solo, because for the past few years everything musically that I was part of was a team of people. I think that's the way it should be, but it's also good to occasionally try approaching things the exact opposite way."

The breakneck pacing of the record kicks off with album opener "Nothing" and blends directly into the first single "Nice Things", a bittersweet ditty that chronicles the mind rush that comes with travelling the four corners of the country and everything in between. "Never Turn Around" is an infectiously fuelled two and a half minutes of pop goodness. McDowell talks on the sound quest that he had in making Gobotron sparkle: "Sonically, I was going for Neutral Milk Hotel. Especially with vocals. I didn't want to sing like them, per se, but they have exactly the tone and lo-fi quality I was striving for."

The Gobotron moniker comes from the initial nickname "Robot" given to McDowell years ago as a play on words with Robert; that evolved into Robo, Robo Cop, Robotron, Robby Robot, Rorby, Gorby, Gorbatraz and many more before ultimately and finally graduating into Gobotron. The album title is inspired from a dream he had after watching The Simpsons one night. "I was falling asleep, drifting in and out. The episode mixed in with one of my dreams and made me think of the title. I woke up laughing and wrote it down. It's nothing deep, it just made sense for the album title."

On the creative process for this album, McDowell says "The goal for ON YOUR MARK, GET SET...was to put every song into overdrive right from the start. The writing would begin with a verse, chorus, or just a riff. I'd set up a mic in the middle of the room and build up parts running from one instrument to another. Once I could hear what it was going to sound like, I would write the rest of the song and re-record the entire song. Then when everything was laid out, I started from scratch again and recorded the version that made it on the CD. This is a computer album that could have never been done if it were on tape. It became a science project rather than a band."

Gobotron combines delicate and simple phrasings influenced from Ben Kweller to Brian Wilson, processed through pop-friendly static and piped through ear-buds waxed with Pavement.
Start your engines!

http://www.myspace.com/gobotron

These Arms Are Snakes Announce Break-Up

From the band:

"It's with a heavy heart we tell you that These Arms Are Snakes is no more. It's been a great run and we'd like to send out a very hearty "Thank You" to everyone that we've worked with or anyone that we've toured with; anyone that lent us a floor, towed our van and / or trailer, lent a van, given us a listen, downloaded our records prior to their coming out, bought our shit, or asked us where our band name came from; everyone who cooked us food, made habanero-infused tequila, had a safety meeting with us, let Steve gyrate all over you, had to live with any of us, made us pay shitloads of money to get off your punk label, got us into LOST, found Steve drunkenly wandering the streets of Tokyo alone, played Madlibs in the van (plural nouns), lost money promoting one of our shows, took Chris to the hospital, put up with our drunken sorry asses, got into a fight with us, etc. etc."

This band could not have been possible without all of you. We sincerely thank you.

Much love,

TAAS 2002 - 2009

www.myspace.com/thesearmsaresnakes