Select Start - The Rotary

Select Start
The Rotary [EP]
reviewed by Naimah Holmes

Nowadays every band has some kind of synth influence to them. The problem with this is that too many of said bands overuse this element of manipulation. Select Start however has found a way to structure their sound around that tool, not the other way around. (read more)


MySpace | PureVolume

Tom Morello's Justice Tour

Click to view more images from Tom Morello's Justice Tour stop in NYC featuring Wayne Kramer, Perry Farrell, Slash and more.

For more information on Road Recovery, click here.

Primavera has arrived!

I only know of California via TV, movies, and the internet. Lame I know! Recently I found out about a band called Primavera and I'd like to thank California for not birthing yet another generic rockband. So, thank you California! Even better thank you to Jessica De Grasse for the etheral vocals, Lyle Tilo Reust (guitar), Thomas Teal (bass), and Randall Wagner (drums) for making rock music interesting again. It's more than just your run of the mill rock. There's substance here! Melodies! Sky-scraping bridges to take you from here to there, and believe me you want to be there. Go take a listen! A few hours will go by before you notice you've had their MySpace page up the entire time. — Naimah Holmes

Primavera in Spanish means "spring time," how appropriate!

UPCOMING DATES
Jun 1 @ TBA --- Los Angeles, CA
Jun 3 @ TBA --- San Diego, CA
Jun 4 @ TBA --- Santa Barbara, CA
Jun 5 @ TBA --- Fresno, CA
Jun 6 @ TBA --- San Francisco, CA
Jun 7 @ TBA --- Sacramento, CA
Jun 8 @ TBA --- Portland, OR
Jun 10 @ TBA --- Tacoma, WA
Jun 11 @ TBA --- Seattle, WA
Jun 13 @ TBA --- Spokane, WA
Jun 14 @ TBA --- Twin Falls, ID
Jun 15 @ TBA --- Salt Lake City, UT
Jun 16 @ TBA --- Provo, UT
Jun 18 @ TBA --- Casper, WY
Jun 19 @ TBA --- Denver, CO
Jun 20 @ TBA --- Colorado Springs, CO
Jun 21 @ TBA --- Kansas City, KS
Jun 22 @ TBA --- Wichita, KS
Jun 23 @ TBA --- St. Louis, MO
Jun 25 @ TBA --- Chicago, IL
Jun 26 @ TBA --- Indianapolis, IN
Jun 27 @ TBA --- Louisville, KY
Jun 29 @ TBA --- Nashville, TN
Jun 30 @ TBA --- Little Rock, AR
Jul 1 @ TBA --- Oklahoma City, OK
Jul 2 @ TBA --- Amarillo, TX
Jul 3 @ TBA --- Albuquerque, NM
Jul 4 @ TBA --- Tuscon, AZ
Jul 5 @ TBA --- Pheonix, AZ

MySpace | Official Site

Kiros - A Single Strand

Kiros
A Single Strand
(Torque Records)
reviewed by Kim Johnson

Ticket-less and pretty much stranded, a friend and I strolled around a gas station near the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine, CA where day one of the second annual Bamboozle Left festival would be held. (read more)

MySpace

Dear And The Headlights

Dear And The Headlights
Small Steps, Heavy Hooves
(Equal Vision Records)
reviewed by: Naimah Holmes

There's something so fresh and alluring about Dear And The Headlights. You notice it the first time you listen to Small Steps, Heavy Hooves. The warmth of Ian Metzger's voice accompanied by the melodies from both guitars and bass, and the pulsing of the drums. Every song could be the soundtrack to your life, weaving in and out of memories as if you were flipping through an old photo album. (read more)

MySpace | Official Site

Cruefest 2008, The Loudest Show On Earth

Eighties' hair rockers, Motley Crue are back with a vengeance. Not only are they releasing a new album, Saints of Los Angeles, on June 17th, but yesterday at 4 PM PST, Motley Crue announced their summer touring plans to bring rock back! That's right, starting July 1st Motley Crue will embark on their 41 date summer festival, Crue Fest, commencing in West Palm Beach, FL. Joining headliners Motley Crue will be rockers Buckcherry, Papa Roach, Sixx: AM, and Trapt. Check out some photos we took at the press conference yesterday, ROCK IS BACK!




UPCOMING DATES
JULY
07.01.08 - West Palm Beach, FL - Cruzan Amphitheatre
07.03.08 - Tampa, FL - Ford Amphitheatre
07.05.08 - Charlotte, NC - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Charlotte
07.06.08 - Virginia Beach, VA - Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach
Amphitheater
07.08.08 - Wantagh, NY - Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
07.09.08 - Buffalo, NY - Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
07.10.08 - Sarnia, ONT - Bayfest
07.12.08 - Philadelphia, PA- Susquehanna Bank Center
07.13.08 - Washington, DC - Nissan Pavilion
07.15.08 - Detroit, MI - DTE Energy Music Theatre
07.16.08 - Chicago, IL - First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
07.18.08 - Indianapolis, IN- Verizon Wireless Music Center Indianapolis
07.19.08 - Milwaukee, WI - Marcus Amphitheater
07.20.08 - St. Louis, MO - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater St. Louis
07.22.08 - Houston, TX - Toyota Center
07.23.08 - San Antonio, TX - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
07.24.08 - Dallas, TX - Superpages.com Center
07.26.08 - Albuquerque, NM - Journal Pavilion
07.27.08 - Denver, CO - Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre
07.29.08 - Salt Lake City, UT - USANA Amphitheatre
07.31.08 - Phoenix, AZ - Cricket Wireless Pavilion

AUGUST
08.01.08 - Las Vegas, NV - Mandalay Bay Events Center
08.02.08 - Los Angeles, CA - Glen Helen Pavilion
08.05.08 - Sacramento, CA - Sleep Train Pavilion
08.06.08 - Mountain View, CA- Shoreline Amphitheatre at Mountain View
08.08.08 - Seattle, WA - White River Amphitheatre
08.09.08 - Portland, OR - Rose Garden
08.11.08 - Vancouver, BC - General Motors Place
08.13.08 - Edmonton, AB - Rexall Place
08.14.08 - Calgary, AB - Pengrowth Saddledome
08.15.08 - Saskatoon, SK - Credit Union Centre
08.17.08 - Winnipeg, MB - MTS Centre
08.19.08 - Cincinnati, OH - Riverbend Amphitheatre
08.20.08 - Cleveland, OH - Blossom Music Center
08.22.08 - Boston, MA - Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts
08.23.08 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center
08.24.08 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena
08.28.08 - Toronto, ONT - Molson Amphitheatre
08.29.08 - Albany, NY - Saratoga Performing Arts Center
08.30.08 - Scranton, PA - Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain
08.31.08 - Pittsburgh, PA - Post-Gazette Pavilion

MySpace | Official Site

New York Dolls - Live At The Fillmore East

New York Dolls
Live At The Fillmore East
(SonyBMG)
reviewed by Izzy Cihak

Recent, and not exactly scientific, evidence has proven that punk's authenticity can be proven not with a specific number of safety pins in one's shirt, but when one has at least three times as many live releases as studio albums. (read more)

MySpace | Official Site

SXSW 2008, Part 2

SXSW 2008
reviewed & photos by Mai Huynh

SXSW 2008 came and went bringing plenty of sleepless nights, tired feet, and amazing music. I left Boston with a plan on how to tackle the thousands of bands that would be performing in Austin but by Wednesday night that plan was out the door. I basically saw all the bands I did because of chance. And sometimes, that’s the best way of experiencing SXSW.

Here's my recap of Day 1, Wednesday, March 12th:

City and Colour (fronted by Dallas Green of Alexisonfire) - Here’s a band that I had no intention of seeing since my only knowledge of Alexisonfire is that they’re a post-hardcore band, which isn’t really my thing. However, my best friend’s boyfriend Tom, actually works for the label that Alexisonfire is on and brought us to watch City and Colour play at the Canadian BBQ Party. The moment I saw Dallas on stage I knew I was already in for a surprise because he resembled an “indie hipster” more than he did the singer of a screamo band and was equally shocked when he strummed his first chord and sang his first lyric. He opened up with a song called ‘The Girl’ from his upcoming release, Bring Me Your Love. The sound is completely opposite than his work with Alexisonfire and is more folk oriented, mellow, lyrically driven and just plain sad. The album features harmonica and banjo but they all play secondary roles to Dallas Green, his voice, and his guitar. He may have stood on stage alone with an acoustic guitar but honestly commanded the entire operation. Few musicians have ever captivated me on first impressions alone and Dallas did so within the first 10 seconds. The way he sings and plays highlights his vulnerability, his passion and that is endearing to see. One of my favorites from the entire festival.



MySpace

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Grande ‘Ole Party - Lead singer, drummer, female. Three things that may seem like separate entities but in GOP, three separate entities happen to be one thing, Kristin Gundred. I stumbled upon this band by chance and stayed because of curiosity. Gundred’s drumming is not complicated but neither is GOP’s music. It is hard to pinpoint exactly what GOP sounds like but Gundred has a really interesting voice and their sound is a mix of Rilo Kiley meets Janis Joplin meets Bessie Smith. What may seem like a strange combination actually works for this band because they already break any molds on what traditional lead singers do, play, and sing. If you like soul songstresses than GOP is the band for you, every emotion Gundred sings about can be seen in her face and heard in her voice.



MySpace

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Corto Maltese - I saw this band outside the open window of BD Riley’s while waiting to get into The Duke Spirit and couldn’t help but wander over and listen. To be honest, the band was pretty boring to watch live but the guitar riffs were really inspiring and the only way to really describe it was ‘fun.’ Listening to them is like a musical rollercoaster because immediately they remind you of many different bands, but not in a bad way. Mostly, their music reminds me of Wolf Parade; I guess because their music is also just as fun and they have similar sounding keyboard loops that just change the dynamic of entire songs. I don’t have too much to say about them because I only made it for a handful of songs but what I did see, I liked. Corto Maltese is a local Austin band with a lot of potential and I can’t wait to experience their full sound.

MySpace

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Dorian - I wish I could have understood at least one word they sang, but unfortunately there’s a language barrier with this electronic/pop band from Barcelona. On my way home across the S. Congress bridge to the Embassy I walked by a near empty Copa lounge where it was ‘World Music’ night. Dorian was the last band of the night and they made me stop in my tracks. After discovering their name I was intrigued even more since Dorian is also the name of my boss’ son. What I was able to understand was that this band was really interesting and I guess music really does allow people the opportunity to overcome whatever language barriers there may be. There were certain songs which might have been better for me if they had been in English, like ‘El Futuro No Es De Nadie,’ which roughly translates to ‘The future is not anyones.’ Musically the song was weak and not as catchy as their other ones but there seemed to be a deeper, stronger message in the lyrics that I wish I understood. However, there were plenty of songs which didn’t require words at all. Overall, this international band experience just helped me understand how beautiful music can be, words or no words music really can transcend verbal or physical boundaries and it was a great way to end the night.

MySpace

Counting Crows - Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings

The Counting Crows
Reviewed & Photographed By: Chelsea Schwartz

When I was a little girl I remember waking up to the sounds of August and Everything After by the Counting Crows blasting through the house stereo on Sunday morning as my father would cook up a massive brunch and the smells of bacon, eggs, and bagels consumed the house. It’s such a pleasant memory to relive and every time I hear that record I think about those weekends. Needless to say, over the years, I have become a huge Counting Crows fan following them from one record to the next. (read more)

Photos Taken at The Grove, Los Angeles, CA on April 3rd, 2008



MySpace | Official Site

Alternative Press Tour 2008

Alternative Press Tour 08
reviewed by Kim Johnson

As eager kids piled into the Glasshouse in Pomona, California, you could steadily see the venue becoming submersed with adrenaline pumped teens ready for the taste of a powerpop/pop punk rock filled night. The room bustled with conversations and chatter only seized by the arrival of the first band up. (read more)

AP Tour MySpace

Sons & Daughters

Sons & Daughters
reviewed by Izzy Cihak

This Easter, the annual zombie bar crawl was far from the most exciting thing going on in Philadelphia. That title belonged to Sons & Daughters, the Scottish quartet who have spent the past five years proving to the music world that the hot-chicks-and-big-riffs equation can actually be hip. (read more)

Official Site | MySpace