As promised...news! And this time, instead of just providing links to the news sites...I've included links to band pages and label sites! How cool am I? Well, I may not be cool, but I'm really nice for taking the time to find all these sites...it's not as easy as you might think. Hyphen this...blahblahblah.net that...page does not exist...ARGH! Oh well, it's the least I can do since I'm not going to be doing reviews here anymore...at least not 'original' reviews.
Reel Big Fish have decided to replace Travis Werts after all...the former trumpet player for Spring Heeled Jack (former because they broke up), Tyler Jones, will be playing the remaining dates on the RBF tour.
After there had been quite a bit of speculation as to whether or not Guttermouth would be leaving Epitaph and returning to Nitro, word has come from their official site saying that they will be staying with Epitaph and are in the process of writing their next album.
Drive Thru records band, The Benjamins, are not breaking up...they're just taking some time off and opted to NOT tour throughout November as they had pretty much every other month this year.
Face To Face has a new mp3 up at Vagrant's site, the track is a cover of the Dropkick Murphy's 'Road to Righteous' and will be on the upcoming FTF/Dropkick split (this was on punknews and vagrant as well). Get the song here.
0Raised Fist will soon be headed in to the studio to begin recording their new album. If you couldn't tell by the link to their site, RF is on Burning Heart records.
Sick of it All is next in line for the Fat Wreck 'Live In A Dive' series...it will be recorded Wednesday in San Fran at The Bottom Of The Hill...damn I wish I were in SF right now.
Two Bad Religion notes:
- 1) The release date of their new album, 'Process of Belief', has been changed again...this time it's been moved up! January 22 is the new date!
- 2) Want to hear the new single, 'Sorrow'? go here.
AFI may have signed with an unknown (at this time) major label. Considering they landed a prestigious opening spot for Jane's Addiction and their year-old, already-been-dropped-once single, 'Days Of The Phoenix', is back in rotation at KROQ, this would only make sense. Maybe they're still on Nitro...maybe they're not.
Drive Thru records will be selling their new comp album, 'Welcome To The Family', exclusively through Hot Topic stores...this is the limited-edition version that comes in a pizza box...or you could just wait until next year and get the regular version, sans the pizza box.
Converge is going on tour this holiday season with American Nightmare and The Hope Conspiracy...three great Equal Vision bands on one bill...check any of the links in this blurb for dates and places.
Fat Free Radio, after much harassment and stuff, has begun looking into other options to keep themselves up and running...possible outcome...fee based subscription thingies...unlike Napster, I could actually see myself paying for this.
Blink 182 is going to be on MADtv on November 24...too bad I'll be at the Vandals show that night...even if I'm not, I'm sure I'll be doing other things.
Promise Ring is in the studio in Surrey, England recording their new album with producer Stephen Street (of The Smiths, Cranberries, Blur and Morrisey fame...gee, you think the Ring was serious back when they said they weren't emo anymore?). This will be their first album for the Anti- label (note: I can't, for the life of me, find Anti-'s site...it's an Epitaph sub-label, though).
Punknews has a new feature...mp3 of the week! And this week there are tracks by Brand New and The Reunion Show...they're damn good songs...check every Sunday for new tracks.
The Dwarves have supposedly released a new album, 'How To Win Friends and Influence People'...but damned if anyone can find it anywhere...maybe they updated the site in an alcoholic/narcotic haze?
Pulley is touring...so is Dynamite Boy...and the Voodoo Glow Skulls...more on that at the end!
Mikey Welch and Nate Albert are in a studio somewhere in Boston recording things. Nat e is ex-Bosstones, Mikey is the bassist-in-absentia for Weezer...but he could very well be the ex-Weezer guy...who knows?
Former Epitaph/Hellcat band, The Gadjits, have joined the THICK records roster. Their new album, 'Today Is My Day', will be out in January.
The Good Life (Tim Kasher of Cursive's side project) has finished up their new album, 'Black Out'. It's set to be released on March 4, 2002 by Saddle Creek records. Emo's not dead kids...it's just hiding.
Asian Man records will be releasing a flurry of new ones in 2002...set to release new albums are Nicotine, Potshot, The Plus Ones, The Toasters, MU330, Short Round and The Chinkees (long lists of bands get no links! I love you guys, but not that damn much).
Face To Face guitarist, Chad Yaro, has left the band. No news on a replacement or a reason at this point in time.
The Vagrant Records Relief Fund has raised $18,960 dollars so far!
Bane has released their new album, 'Give Blood'...in my opinion, it's one of the better albums of 2001.
there's nothing I care to recap from anything the site reported this week...not even the bit about Coldplay rescheduling US tour dates.
The annual North Texas New Music Festival will be up and running on November 16 and 17 featuring bands like Chomsky, Baboon, Crash Vinyl, Darlington, Deathray Davies, Doosu, El Gato, Hi-Fi Drowning, Happiness Factor, Lucy Love Schroeder, Pinkston, Red Animal War, Valve and many others. There are some Austin bands coming in for the occasion...notably Kissinger, Household Names and Pop Unknown (one of my absolute favorite bands right now...seriously). The event is free if you get your tix in advance (check the hardcopy of the Observer for details), and costs 8 bux at the door (I would guess it'll be a wristband thing...but maybe I'm wrong). You should go and listen to the music! Plus, if you're really good at spotting them, you can harass people who work for record labels...but only between sets, don't take away from the bands and their chance to be heard (again, there exists a great love within me for all of my readers...but Christ, that's a lot of bands and I'm not about to provide links for all of them!).
Dallas-based punk outfit, No Class (my friend Chris's band), will be playing this Thursday at the Galaxy Club with...get this...Dynamite Boy! Pulley! The Voodoo Glow Skulls! The doors open at 7, so get there early and show your support...I'll be reviewing the show (assuming I find a ride), but it won't be available for your reading pleasure until I start writing for Musicians Planet.
That's the news folks...at least, that's the news that I felt like telling you about. If there was something I left out or just plain didn't see, please email me about whatever it is and I'll try to include it in next weeks column. Next up for me...a feature about promises and how they're just not what they used to be...or maybe something else, I haven't decided yet.