W♥M (Archive)

HardDrive Live Fallout Tour, feat. All That Remains and We Came As Romans at Skyway Theatre, Minneapolis (30 Oct 2015)

All that Remains Setlist Now Let Them Tremble For We Are Many Stand Up This Probably Won't End Well The Air That I Breathe Victory Lap No Knock Six Hold On Pernicious What If I Was Nothing? This Calling Two Weeks We Came As Romans Setlist Regenerate Fade Away Ghosts The World I Used To Know Tear It Down Present, Future, and Past Broken Statues Who Will Pray? 12:30 Mis//Understanding Tracing Back Roots A War Inside To Plant a Seed Hope Read More All That Remains As expected, fans are divided on the approach that All That Remains have taken on their new album but I think the least anyone could say is that it's a giant step forward from the disaster that was A War You …

The HardDrive Live Fallout Tour, featuring co-headliners We Came As Romans and All That Remains, recently played the Skyway Theatre in Minneapolis on Friday (October 30th).

Red Sun Rising

Red Sun Rising from Akron, Ohio, was one of the band who opened up the show ... touring in support of their debut album Polyester Zeal (Razor & Tie). These guys have been around since 2007 but haven't really gotten the attention they deserve. That is all about to change. They blew me away last night. Mike Protich, singer, has a voice like I have never heard before. He is fronting a metal band but has a voice that would turn all the chairs on The Voice. That's something that you don't get all the time. There's nothing wrong with a metal singer that can't sing, that's part of the charm for me. But when you have a singer that is nailing every note and actually has feeling in his voice, that's something special and that's exactly what this band has.

Unfortunately, Red Sun Rising only had about a twenty minute set but they fit as much as they could into those twenty minutes. The crowd seemed to be conserving their energy for the rest of the night but that didn't stop the five-piece from giving the short set their all. Unfortunately, Red Sun Rising didn't seem to fit the more metalcore bill of the night. Their sound seemed to be a bit too radio rock for the crowd. Last night was Red Sun Rising's last night on this tour and they will soon embark on a tour with Godsmack. I think they will fit on that bill way better and hopefully they will finally get the recognition they deserve.

Polyester Zeal debut on Billboard’s Heatseeker’s Chart at #7. The album is available everywhere, including iTunes, Spotify, record stores, etc.

We Came As Romans

We Came As Romans stole the show last night, playing tracks from their latest self-titled album (Equal Vision Records). They had an intense light show that pretty much blinded you at times along with great music. I have seen these guys a couple of times and they keep getting more and more polished with each performance I see. "Tear It Down" is a song that the unclean singer, Dave Stephens, said was written just so they could see the whole crowd jump up and down in unison. That's exactly what the crowd did.

The crowd never slowed down for WCAR's set and neither did the band members. The amount of energy these guys have is immeasurable. Throughout the hour long set, WCAR had the crowd enthralled in their live show. You didn't have to know their lyrics to feel like you were a part of this band. That is why I feel like these guys stole the show. It didn't matter who you were there to see last night, you stopped what you were doing, stopped the conversation you were in the middle of, put your phones away the second these guys started.

All That Remains were the headliners of the night, currently touring in support of their latest studio album, The Order Of Things (also available on Razor & Tie). This is their seventh studio album, and highly anticipated, as the record landed #25 on Billboard Top 200 with over 19,000 units sold in its first week at retail.

The Massachusetts band, featuring singer Phil Labonte, guitarist Oli Herbert, rhythm guitarist Mike Martin, bassist Jeanne Sagan, and drummer Jason Costa, played some hits, including their first hit single "This Calling".

All That Remains' The Order Of Things is available now.

Remaining tour dates:

11/02/15 Knoxville, TN International 11/03/15 Raleigh, NC The Ritz 11/04/15 Philadelphia, PA Theatre Of Living 11/06/15 Sayreville, NJ Starland Ballroom 11/07/15 Worcester, MA The Palladium 11/17/15 Lincoln, NE Bourbon Theatre 11/19/15 Colorado Springs, CO Black Sheep 11/20/15 Albuquerque, NM Sunshine Theatre 11/21/15 Farmington, NM Top Deck 11/22/15 Tucson, AZ Club XS 11/24/15 Tempe, AZ The Marquee 11/25/15 Las Vegas, NV Vinyl @ Hard Rock Hotel 11/27/15 Spokane, WA Knitting Factory 11/28/15 Boise, ID Knitting Factory

11/30/15 Fort Collins, CO Aggie Theatre 12/01/15 Wichita, KS The Cotillion 12/04/15 St. Louis, MO Pop's Blue Moon 12/05/15 Milwaukee, WI The Rave 12/06/15 Chicago, IL Concord Music Hall 12/08/15 Atlanta, GA Heaven 12/09/15 Charlotte, NC Fillmore Charlotte 12/11/15 Portland, ME Asylum 12/12/15 Hartford, CT Webster Theater 12/13/15 Baltimore, MD Rams Head Live! 12/14/15 New York, NY Gramercy Theatre 12/16/15 Lancaster, PA Chameleon 12/17/15 Flint, MI The Machine Shop 12/18/15 Millvale, PA Mr. Small's Theatre

All That Remains at Skyway Theatre, Minneapolis (30 October 2015)

langen ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ itunes.apple.com

Minnesota: Austin Plaine, Carroll, and High Tiny Hairs

Read More Austin Plaine It takes a bit to find our path. Or to know when we're already on it. Austin Plaine wasn't looking to become the next great singer-songwriter.....

AUSTIN PLAINE
austinplainemusic.com

23-year old Minneapolis native Austin Plaine will be releasing his self-title debut album on Washington Square/Razor & Tie this September 11th. You can currently preview his song "Houston" on Soundcloud:



If you listen to it, a simple message about going back to Houston, Texas, is told in a way that paints this great picture about packing his bags, riding on the railway lines, crossing that county line, and thinking of a girl. Without declaring it, there's a hint of sadness, regret, and the feeling of loneliness on that long road.

Obviously being from Minnesota, Plaine is heavily influenced by Bob Dylan (who isn't?), but his songwriting suggests other heartfelt storytellers, like Conor Oberst and even Bruce Springsteen.

Listen for the first official single "Never Come Back Again" will hit Triple A and Americana radio on August 24th.

I am told that Austin Plaine will announce touring plans soon, in the meantime, he is playing a free show at Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2 in New York on August 12th.

Read More Carroll Carroll was the first local band on. The band is a Varsity favorite and they had a brief 30 minute set, kicking off with "Sticks" and followed by "Alligator". …

CARROLL
carrollmusic.net

Minneapolis-based Carroll's self-titled LP is coming out September 18th via Entertainment One Music. You can preview "Alligator" from the forthcoming album now.

Hear the song now:



The secret origin of the band came about in 2011 when college classmate Brian Hurlow and Charlie Rudoy teamed up for writing music and the pair moved to St. Paul's Carroll Avenue, tucked neatly in between Summit Hill and the Mississippi River.

After recruiting Max Kulicke and Charles McClung, they decided to named themselves after the street name.... solidifying themselves with other street-named bands like Cedar Avenue, Lake Avenue, The 8th Street Band, Sleater-Kinney, The E Street Band, and Backstreet Boys.

We previously caught Carroll at Communion at the Varsity Theater and mentioned that they won Vita.mn's fourth annual "Are You Local" contest in 2013.

HIGH TINY HAIRS
facebook.com

High Tiny Hairs is the latest project from former F*** Knights guitarist and Nightinghales' front man Ben Bachman.

His upcoming self-titled EP is coming out August 24th, 2015, via Sir Gregory Records, and said to be very dream pop (but with Farfisa organs).

Look for High Tiny Hairs EP on limited edition cassette and digital download.

You can order it via Bandcamp.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ itunes.apple.com

And Ampersand

Read More Belle & Sebastian We've been very excited about news of the new Belle & Sebastian 2015 album for a while now, but the band recently made things official: It is called Girls in Peacetime Want To Dance …

BELLE & SEBASTIAN
belleandsebastian.com

We've seen these type of crowd-source music videos before, the latest is from Scottish band Belle & Sebastian for the "Nobody's Empire" video. I've criticized a few bands for doing this, mainly because I feel it's a cheap of them (I know the band can afford to produce a music video). But hey, who am I to say, as long as fans love doing this for their favorite bands... Full details of this at belleandsebastian.com.

They need the video clips by no later than Thursday 27th November so that we have time to edit them into the video.

Tour dates:

01/26/15 Auckland Laneway Festival, New Zealand
01/29/15 Sydney, Enmore Theatre
01/31/15 Australia, Taronga Zoo, Sydney
02/01/15 Melbourne, Palais Theatre
02/03/15 Australia, Perth, Astor Theatre,
02/10/15 Hong Kong, Asia World Arena
02/12/15 S.Korea, Seoul, AX Club
02/16/15 Hostess Club Taipei, Legacy, Taipei
02/21/15 Japan, Tokyo, Hostess Club
03/30/15 USA, Cambridge, House of Blues
04/01/15 Canada, Toronto, Massey Hall
04/02/15 USA, Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak
04/03/15 USA, Riviera, Chicago
05/03/15 UK, Cardiff, St David’s Hall
05/04/15 UK, Bristol, Colston Hall
05/07/15 UK, Cambridge, Corn Exchange
05/08/15 UK, Norwich, Open
05/10/15 UK, Birmingham, Symphony Hall
05/11/15 UK, Westminster, Central Hall
05/12/15 UK, Westminster, Central Hall
05/14/15 UK, Manchester, Albert Hall
05/15/15 UK, Manchester, Albert Hall
05/16/15 UK, Newcastle City Hall
05/18/15 UK, Buxton, Opera House
05/19/15 UK, Leeds, Town Hall
05/22/15 Glasgow Hydro Arena
05/24/15 UK, Sound City, Liverpool
06/10/15 New York, Radio City Music Hall
07/02/15 KEFLAVIK, ATP Iceland

Read More She & Him She & Him (Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward) just released a new EP called The Capitol Studios Session. The digital-only release features new version of four songs taken from their latest Volume 3 album. …

SHE & HIM
sheandhim.com

She & Him (Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward) have a new cover lover album Classics this December 3rd, on Columbia Records.

The entire album was recorded live and and accompanied by a 20-piece orchestra.

Track Listing

1. Stars Fell on Alabama
2. Oh No, Not My Baby
3. It’s Not for Me to Say
4. Stay Awhile
5. This Girl’s In Love With You
6. Time After Time
7. She
8. Teach Me Tonight
9. It’s Always You
10. Unchained Melody
11. I’ll Never Be Free
12. Would You Like to Take a Walk
13. We’ll Meet Again

Read More Gardens & Villa Gardens & Villa are back with Dunes, their second LP, which came out two weeks ago on Secretly Canadian. …

GARDENS & VILLA
gardensandvilla.com

Gardens & Villa recently shared a remix from multi-platinum, Grammy nominated producer N.O. Joe of "Domino" off of Gardens & Villa's Dunes, released earlier this year on Secretly Canadian.

N.O. Joe (I believe the "N.O." stands for New Orleans, because he is based out of Louisiana) has worked with everyone from Ice Cube to Lil Wayne, and is a multi-platinum Grammy Nominated producer.

The secret origin of this collaboration about when G&V randomly met with N.O. Joe at SXSW 2014 at a late-night tacos eatery. The two became friends and out of this, the remix of "Domino".

Hear it now:



Gardens & Villa will cap off their year with a headlining show at The Echoplex in Los Angeles on Saturday, December 13.

Read More Yoko Ono Smith speaks on the phone with John & Yoko, who are in their suite at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal for the second of their two Bed-Ins. Among other things, they discuss selling Peace as a commodity, the Activist … The Flaming Lips I think this was my first time seeing The Flaming Lips, but I could be wrong. Seems odd that this was "a very special Early Evening performance", since the band's psychedelic/space rock seems to work better at night … Jessica Hernandez Jessica Hernandez is a first-generation American, living in Detroit, Michigan. She lists her influences are Gogol Bordello and Tom Waits, both bands that we like on W♥M. …

YOKO ONO & THE FLAMING LIPS
yoko-ono.com

I know it's only November, but Christmas time is almost here.

Yoko Ono & The Flaming Lips have teamed up to record "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" for All Is Bright - The Exclusive Amazon Holiday Playlist.

The playlist features over 40 songs by artists such as the other ampersand artist Jessica Hernandez & the Deltas, Ashley Monroe, Brandi Carlile, Liz Phair, Jessie Baylin, Lucinda Williams, PHOX and many more

All Is Bright is an exclusive newly-recorded holiday songs available for listening on Amazon's Prime Music service. This is the first-ever exclusive holiday playlist from Amazon is available for unlimited ad-free listening on Prime Music for Amazon Prime members at no additional cost to their membership. If you want to own the album, they are not sold as an album, instead they are variously priced (mostly $0.99 each). It can end up costing you over $30, so the value isn't quite there if you want to own it.

Newly-written holiday songs for All Is Bright:

Anna Nalick — “Till the End of the Year (Bye Buy By)”

Blondfire — “Christmas Lights”

Emi Meyer — “Everything this Christmas”

Jenn Bostic — “Light a Candle For You”

Julian Moon — “Best Christmas Ever”

Liz Phair — “Ho Ho Ho”

Ruby the RabbitFoot — “Under Any Limb”

Selena Garcia — “Hold-up Holidays”

Never heard before renditions of holiday classics for All Is Bright:

Amanda Palmer — “The Angel Gabriel” Ashley Monroe — “Tennessee Christmas” Beth Orton — “River” Brandi Carlile — “O Holy Night” Elastic Bond — “Winder Wonderland” Escort — “Last Christmas” Heartless Bastards — “White Christmas” Hero Fisher — “Pretty Paper” Houndmouth — “Blue Christmas” Jessica Hernandez & the Deltas — “I Want a Hippopotamus...” Jessie Baylin — “Purple Snowflakes” Jillian Edwards — “O Come, All Ye Faithful” Kat Parsons — “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” Kate Davis feat. Gabe Schnider — “Greensleeves” Kelly Hogan — “Blue Snowfall” Ladyhawke — “Merry Xmas Everyone” Laura Gibson — “A Wonderful Christmastime”

Lauren Shera — “(It’s Gonna Be a) Lonely Christmas” Little & Ashley — “Someday at Christmas” Lucinda Williams — “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” Mia Doi Todd — “The Cherry Tree Carol” Natalia Clavier — “My Favorite Things” Natalia Zukerman — “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve” No Sinner — “Baby Please Come Home” PHOX — “The Christmas Song” Ruby Jane Smith — “Make a Wish” Ruthie Foster — “Amazing Grace” Shaprece — “Carol of the Bells” Shelby Earl — “We Three Kings” Sinclair — “The Christmas” Tal Wilkenfeld — “All I Want for Christmas Is You” The Rosebuds — “Let it Snow” This Is The Kit — “It’s Christmas Time” Yoko Ono & Flaming Lips — “Happy Xmas (War is Over)”

Read More Sonny & the Sunsets I Need You Bad is a compilation curated by Sonny Smith (of Sonny & the Sunsets) documenting the current garage rock scene in the Bay area and beyond (not every band included here is from the Bay area & it's not 100% garage rock!). …

SONNY & THE SUNSETS
sonnysmith.com

San Francisco's Sonny & the Sunsets is back with Talent Night at the Ashram, set for February 17, 2015, on Polyvinyl Records.

You may remember that we reviewed Sonny & the Sunset's compilation/curated album I Need You Bad, which wrote was, mostly from California's "60's surf".

Talent Night at the Ashram will be available in all the usual formats (CD, digital, cassette, and vinyl). The 180g Vinyl will be limited edition of 500 exclusive to the Polyvinyl webstore on light blue (preorder now to guarantee a copy polyvinylrecords.com). There will also be an unlimited version on red vinyl.

Track List:

1. The Application
2. Cheap Extensions
3. The Secluded Estate
4. Talent Night at the Ashram
5. Alice Leaves for the Mountains
6. Happy Carrot Health Food Store
7. Blot Out the Sun
8. Baby Jokin
9. Icelene's Loss
10. Secret Plot

Read More Cracker Upcoming December Shows 12/01/14 Allah-Las and Tashaki Miyaki at Turf Club 12/04/14 Cracker at Varsity Theater …

HUGH BOB & THE HUSTLE
hughbobandthehustle.com

I believe Wisconsin's Hugh Bob & The Hustle (headed by 'North Country' singer/songwriter Hugh Robert Masterson) will be appearing with Cracker this December 4th at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis. If you listened to our new podcast, you can clearly hear us singing to various Cracker/Camper Van Beethoven songs off the top of our heads.

Opening up the Minnesota show will be Hugh Bob & The Hustle, a band that's been compared to all the greats, including Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, John Prine, etc.

Check out his song "Butternut":



When Masterson play live, he's joined by The Hustle, a band comprising of bassist Nicholas Stuart, keyboardist Bradley Kruse, guitarist Quinn Scharber, and drummer Justin Krol.

Hugh Bob & The Hustle's other show will be at The Frequency in Madison on December 5, 2014.

Read More Arrica Rose & the ...'s Arrica Rose & The ... is essentially Arrica Rose, she's backed up by her band The ...'s (The Dots Dots Dots), and I'll bet that her latest album, La La Lost, is in reference to being lost in her residence of Los Angeles. …

ARRICA ROSE & THE ...'S
arricarose.com

Remember Arrica Rose & the ...'s (The Dot Dot Dots)? They just released their latest album Wavefunction, out November 4th via pOprOck records.

The album was designed for vinyl, each side featuring a distinct mood. Rose explains, "We think of it as music for different occasions, a choose your own adventure kind of album." (Which incidentally, " Choose Your Own Adventure" one of the key creator R. A. Montgomery passed away November 9th).

Track List:

1. Song in Your Head
2. Love You Like That
3. Tiny Broken Boats
4. California On Repeat
5. Oh the Day (Then the Night)
6. In Dreams
7. Safety Pin
8. The Shallow End
9. Cut It Out
10. Where You've Been
11. (Oh the Day) Then the Night

BRIEFLY:

RAZOR & TIE razorandtie.com Record label Razor & Tie had a breakout year at rock radio in 2014 with hits from The Pretty Reckless ("Heaven Knows" finishes the year as the #1 song at Active and Mainstream Rock), All That Remains and Starset making the label the most successful indie in the format and the second strongest rock label, second only to Warner Brothers.

TOOTH & NAIL toothandnail.com Record label Tooth & Nail announced a new album from Copeland (who we saw in 2009) called Ixora.... his first album in six years. Also, they recently also signed Long Beach's Hearts Like Lions.

MILK & BONE milkandbone.mu Montreal's Milk & Bone recently signed with Bonsound with a single and music video called "New York". The electro-pop duo (Camille Poliquin and Laurence Lafond-Beaulne) will be releasing their debut album early spring 2015.

KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD kinggizzardandthelizardwizard.com One of the most ridiculous band names, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard are wrapping up their UK tour in support of their latest LP I'm In Your Mind Fuzz (released November 11th on Castle Face in the US and Heavenly in the UK). Remaining tour dates: Bodega Social Club, Nottingham (11/26) and Rough Trade East, London (12/01).

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Born Cages at Gibson Guitar Studios, New York (01/22/2014)

Born Cages Setlist Tour Dates 01/25 Gunners Run Philadelphia, PA 02/07 Asbury Lanes^ Asbury Park, NJ 02/13 Mercury Lounge* New York, NY 02/14 MilkBoy Philly* Philadelphia, PA 02/17 Great Scott* Boston, MA * w/ Deaf Havana ^ w/ Seasick Mama Read More Born Cages Born Cages is an alternative rock band, lead by singer/guitarist Vlad Holiday. The band is currently signed to Razor & Tie. We are covering Born Cages in a private showcase on Wednesday (Jan 22nd) …

New York band Born Cages played a short but sweet private showcase Wednesday evening at Gibson Guitar Studios, hosted by Razor & Tie and Washington Square.

Amanda Carl

Formed in 2011, the band is led by Vlad Holiday singing main vocals and guitar. Along with Holiday are Amanda Carl on keyboard, Dave Tantao on drums, and Pete Malleo on bass, all of which also sing back-up vocals. The group has the grungy-rock look down without seeming to try too hard to be deemed douchey-looking. Fortunately, their musical talent matches their cool façade.

Born Cages describe themselves as indie/rock, but I find them to be more pop rock-like. Their single, “Don’t Look Back,” from their new EP “The Sidelines” is a bit anthem-like and can easily fit in to mainstream music. The band’s general sound is a mixture of 30 Seconds to Mars and The Click Five: the strong, bold sound of the former, the fast-tempo and high energy of the latter, which makes a great combination for reaching most audiences. What I really appreciate is that their music will bring in more instrumental-based music to mainstream music, which tends to be more and more electronic-based now.

Their performance at the studio Wednesday was a clear demonstration of their dedication to their songs. Their sound was tight, showing their belief in their music and their musical talent was evident, particularly with Holiday’s occasional small guitar solos, or as I will call them, “shredlets.” “Metaphor” particularly is a rock song that can get people dancing. Their opening two songs, which are not on the EP, seem to make them stand out a little more, showcasing their reach into indie/rock. Though the space and audience had a chill vibe, Born Cages managed to get the crowd moving as much as is possible when an adult audience cannot hide under darkness or alcohol to rock out.

Born Cages has all the elements: good hooks, good looks, and good stage presence (couldn’t think of another fitting word ending in “–ooks”). Check them out at one of their upcoming tour dates.

Born Cages at Gibson Guitar Studios, New York (01/22/2014)

justina ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ borncages.com

Born Cages

Afterparty for Radio 104.5's Winter Jam flyer: facebook Read More MS MR NYC duo MS MR came to Minneapolis “for the first time as a band and as people” ...and ‘rocked it like a ‘Hurricane’. ‘Hurricane’, of course, refers to their infectious single of the same name…

Born Cages is an alternative rock band, lead by singer/guitarist Vlad Holiday. The band is currently signed to Razor & Tie.

We are covering Born Cages in a private showcase on Wednesday (Jan 22nd) in New York, so expect some photos and a report after the date.

If you live in Philadelphia, check out their show this Saturday (Jan 25) at Gunners Run. They are part of Radio 104.5's Winter Jam, featuring twenty one pilots, MS MR, New Politics, and Switchfoot.

Born Cages wrote:

Next Saturday is Radio 104.5's Winter Jam with twenty one pilots, MS MR, New Politics and Switchfoot - and we're playing the after-party! It's happening right after the show (7pm) at Gunners Run, which is located directly to the right of the main stage. Philly, let's party!

The Sidelines Razor & Tie

Expect Born Cages to play some tracks from their recent The Sidelines EP, which came out Jun 18, 2013, on Razor & Tie. You can stream the entire EP over at Soundcloud, plus various other oddities, including their remix of Arcade Fire's "Afterlife".

Hear "Cover My Band's Song":



Born Cages live schedule:

01/25 Afterparty for Radio 104.5's Winter Jam
02/07 Asbury Lanes - Asbury Park, NJ
02/13 Mercury Lounge - New York, NY
02/14 MilkBoy Philly - Philadelphia, PA
02/17 Great Scott - Boston, MA

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com

Going for Gold XIV

Read More Goldenboy Goldenboy is the nickname given to Shon Sullivan by Elliott Smith. The name obviously hold a special place in Sullivan's heart, so he kept it as a stagename.

With the Summer Olympic Games in full motion, here are some Going for Gold articles.

GOLDENBOY
goldenboyband.com

With Elliott Smith's birthday today, August 6th, you may want to check out Goldenboy. Smith gave Shon Sullivan the nickname 'goldenboy' so Sullivan used that gift with pride.

Elliott Smith also sings backup on Goldenboy's latest re-issue of "Summertime," as explained by Sullivan: "That song came from one of the tours that we'd done in the fall of 2002. I had the guitar in the bus and I was working on it, so Elliott would be like, "What're you playing?" Then, when we were recording Blue Swan Orchestra, Elliott said, "Hey, I came up with this vocal harmony for that song, and if you want it it might be really cool." So he just went for it, and it was amazing."

The song is from Blue Swan Orchestra, which is being re-mastered and re-issued for October 9th, 2012, via Eenie Meenie Records.

He will be taking it on the road this Fall. We previously covered his show last year.

09/21 Hotel Monte Vista, Flagstaff, AZ 09/22 Lost Leaf, Phoenix, AZ 09/28 Melody Inn, Indianapolis, IN 09/29 Midpoint Festival, Cincinnati, OH 10/01 Daytrotter (time TBA) Rock Island, IL 10/02 Gas Lamp, Des Moines, IA 10/04 The Orpheum Theater, Hancock, MI

10/05 Upfront and Company, Marquette, MI 10/06 Cause Spirits, Minneapolis, MN 10/08 Double Doors, Chicago, IL 10/10 Mickey Finn's, Toledo, OH 10/18 The Space, Hamden, CT 10/19 Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY 10/20 Green Room Music Source CMJ Showcase

SUCH GOLD
suchgold.com

We've previously written about Such Gold before:

They just announced that they've signed a deal with Razor & Tie Records, which will be coming out Spring 2012. We're so far from the release date that I don't actually have a cover artwork for the album.

Well, I have their cover artwork now. Their album is called Misadventures, and it will be out August 14th via Razor & Tie Records.

You can catch them on tour in the fall:

08/16 Millvale, PA Mr. Smalls Theatre * 08/17 Detroit, MI Shelter * 08/18 Chicago, IL The Bottom Lounge * 08/19 Cleveland, OH Grog Shop * 08/21 Buffalo, NY Mohawk Place * 08/22 New York, NY The Studio at Webster Hall * 08/23 Philadelphia, PA First Unitarian Church * 08/24 Worcester, MA Palladium Upstairs * 08/25 Montreal, Canada Corona Theatre * 08/26 Toronto, Canada The Annex Wreckroom * 09/05 Mesa, AZ Nile Theatre† 09/07 San Antonio, TX White Rabbit† 09/08 Austin, TX Red 7† 09/09 Corpus Christi, TX House of Rock† 09/11 Penascola, TX Vinyl Music Hall† 09/12 Gainesville, FL High Dive† 09/13 St. Petersburg, FL The State Theatre† 09/14 Miami, FL Churchill's†

09/15 Orlando, FL The Social† 09/16 Jacksonville, FL Freebird Live† 09/21 St. Louis, MO The Firebird† 09/22 Oklahoma City, OK The Conservatory† 09/23 Dallas, TX Trees† 09/25 Albuquerque, NM Launchpad† 09/26 Flagstaff, AZ Orpheum Theatre† 09/27 Las Vegas, NV Hard Rock Hotel† 09/28 San Diego, CA House of Blues† 09/29 West Hollywood, CA House of Blues† 09/30 Santa Barbara, CA Velvet Jones† 10/02 Bakersfield, CA B Ryder's† 10/03 San Francisco, CA Slim's† 10/04 Santa Cruz, CA The Catalyst Atrium† 10/05 Anaheim, CA House of Blues † ^ w/ Strung Out, Handguns * w/ Silverstein, Lions Lions † w/ Strung Out, The Swellers

BRIEFLY:

MATT GOLD soundcloud.com Could not find Matt Gold's website. He probably doesn't have one, the only detail I have is that he's offering some songs remasted on his Soundcloud page. He is currently putting on the final touches on his debut album, Drown Before You Swim, for this month, August 2012.

HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER myspace.com Elephant Micah and Hiss Golden Messenger have teamed up to record a 7" split. The split is coming out September 4th. For a limited time, the 7" will come bundle with HGM's Poor Moon LP or EM's Louder Than Thou LP. The 7" will be available in a limited, hand-numbered edition of 500, featuring "kustom kudzu stamps." More details at paradiseofbachelors.com.

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ +W♥M

Dee Snider's Shut Up and Give Me the Mic

Details Publisher: Gallery Books Category: Biography Publication Date: May 8th, 2012 List Price: $26.00 ISBN-10: 145163739X Hardcover: 432 Pages Book Signing Tour May 7: Ridgewood, NJ - Bookends 7 pm May 8: Huntington, NY - Book Revue 7 pm May 9: Mendham, NJ - Mendham Books 7 pm May 10: Madison, CT - R.J. Julia 7 pm May 11: Philadelphia, PA - Barnes & Noble 6 pm May 12: Detroit, MI - Barnes & Noble 4 pm May 14: Skoki, IL - Barnes & Noble 7 pm May 15: Kansas City, MO - Unity Temple 7 pm May 16: Norma, OK - Hastings 7 pm May 17: Tucson, AZ - Barnes & Noble 7 pm May 18: Tempe, AZ - Changing Hands Bookstore 7 pm Read More Dee Snider We're Not Gonna Take It! NO! We all grew up hearing Twisted Sister on the radio. The man behind the band, Dee Snider, has a few projects under his belt…

Dee Snider's autobiography, "Shut Up and Give Me the Mic", is coming out May 8th, alongside his Dee Does Broadway album, via Razor & Tie Records.

The book starts with this disclaimer:

"If the only things that float your boat are journals from drug-addled, ex-junkie, sex-addicted rockers, forget it. Those books are bulls***t anyway. Have you ever known a junkie? They can't remember what they did thirty minutes ago, let alone thirty years ago. They kept a journal? And you believe them? Real heroin addicts can't hold their own d****; forget about a pen or pencil. And who isn't addicted to sex? What a scam."

I've read a few music autobiographies for review, and I have to say, that "Shut Up and Give Me the Mic" is the most entertaining of those books. The man has a memory like an elephant, meticulously detailing everything. I don't know if credits should be given to Snider or his editor, but thank you for painstakingly explaining terms*, bands, and people from before my time. Having said that, sometime I did have a little trouble keeping track of who's who, especially when the names aren't remarkable like drummer #2 to Paul Cooper to Phil Carson. I suppose that's why the more colorful and memorable musicians went by nick names like Jay Jay French, "Fury" Mannello, AJ, and, of course, Dee Snider (Danny Snider).

Taking the lead from Snider's book, for those that aren't familiar with Dee Snider, he was the singer (and eventual) bandleader for Twisted Sister. The band started in the early 70s as a cover band. Snider didn't join the band until 1976, which, at the time, Jay Jay was the singer and songwriter and the band's manager. The band built up an audience in America, but didn't really blow up until they were noticed in the UK and eventually were asked to play Reading and to appear on Channel 4's "The Tube". Once secured to a record deal with Atlantic Records, the band went on to having two massive MTV hit videos for "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock".

I don't know if it would be considered a spoiler (since it's well documented in history), but the band was the target of Tipper Gore's Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) group. This lead to music distributors stop carrying Twisted Sister's albums, and their music videos were essentially banned from MTV. I'm sure there were other factors, but I really felt that Gore's crusade destroyed a lot of people.

"Shut Up and Give Me the Mic" does a great job in capturing Twisted Sister's story, although it's done through the eyes of Snider. Snider sometime fail to understand what he was doing wrong, which is funny because he often goes on about what other people were doing wrong (like when Jay Jay French's dismissive tone to his first song).

The best part about this biography is that Snider had stories for some of Twisted Sister's hit songs (like how it was "his idea" for the "I Wanna Rock" chorus). What you probably didn't expect is that along with Twisted Sister's story, there is a parallel love story with his one true love, Suzette. Her introduction is quite funny, I won't give away anything, but let's just say I laughed out loud when they first spoke to each other. Suzette would play an important role in the band's development by suggesting they wear makeup and then becoming their costume designer.

There are many good stories and theories from Snider. One of my favorite is his theory about how ugly/less popular people are at their most creative. Basically "beautiful" people don't have any talent, because if you were out partying all the time, when do you actually have time to devote to your craft?

Anyway, it's really baffling how a band, who started "hair metal" and was at the top of the world in 1984, to hitting rock bottom in by October 10, 1987, in Minneapolis, of all places. You might think the story ended there, but I felt through Snider's optimism of being back on television (Celebrity Apprentice), and this book and being on Broadway, that Dee Snider is just starting the second part of his life!

As I have previously mentioned, it was a pleasure to read this book. Even if you've never heard of Twisted Sister (yeah right), or remotely like heavy metal, I still recommend this book for reading. It seems to me that this book is more than those things, this book is part life lessons, part love story, and the love of rock 'n roll.

"Shut Up and Give Me the Mic" will be out May 8th via Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster Publishing. Come out and meet the man himself at his book signing tour next week.

* For example, the term A&R is thrown around in the music industry and I vaguely understand this as 'artist development'. Snider doesn't assume you know that and explained this as "artist and repertoire" and what they do.

vu () ♥ www.deesnider.com