The annual Warped Tour is approaching again. This year it takes place on July 20th at Vinoy Park, on the water in St. Petersburg. I've linked to their site before, and it is possible to see which bands are playing, but it's a pain in the ass to figure out if the bands listed are actually going to be here. Most of the bands are only playing part of the tour, and a lot of good bands won't be here. But I went ahead and figured out . Here's a list of the bands playing the St. Pete show, and links to some music, starting with the first 18 bands:
Bad Religion, the granddaddys of punk from Woodland Hills, CA. On Epitaph Records. The new record does not sound like the others. You tell me if that's good or bad. Band site.
Circa Survive from Philadelphia, PA. On Equal Vision Records. I have seen these guys three or four times now, and they can be really good when they actually try. Actually, the band is always good. The singing could use a touch more sobriety at times. But when they are good, they are really good. Band site.
So do you know if you are going to go yet? Did anything jump out at you? Well if not, just be patient. More to come quickly. Post a comment below if you have something to say about Warped or any of these bands.
It's basically impossible for me not to look for great new music. Here's a little of what I've found lately:
Matt and Kim are a two-piece from Brooklyn. Kim plays a sparse drum set while Matt plays keyboards and sings. Their music is heavily syncopated and positively cheerful. I like my fast angry punk rock, to be sure, but happy music makes me glad I am alive. At their website you can download No More Long Years, Yea Yeah, Verbs Before Nouns and Silver Tiles right from the frontpage. Also you can see pics of Kim being adorable. I saw them play two nights ago at the Crowbar and her wide-open smile never stopped. Matt thought she had all the stage lights, but I think it was just Kim being happy. Great show, and a really fun band. Definitely download if you like Mates of State's more upbeat songs, or any Hot Hot Heat at all. Oh, and Mates of State fans, trust me, it's not a rip-off. Besides, they play the opposite instruments.
If you haven't already heard of The Thermals from Portland, Oregon, then it is high time you did. If you know Archers of Loaf and Superdrag and like them then don't be surprised if you like this too. The Thermals is political punk with a baby-smooth front, and it rocks hard. Download Here's Your Future (my favorite and a must hear), A Pillar of Salt, How We Know, A Stare Like Yours, It's Trivia, and No Culture Icons right from the front page of their website. It's a little weird, though. Look for the music player at the top left of the page and mouse over the name of the song to download each track. This will be the very best thing you found in a while.
You know what The Hold Steady kind of sound like? It's a little like if The Black Crowes didn't thoroughly suck. I absolutely hate that band, and it isn't even fair to imply any sort of association with Chris "Give Me Drugs Not Food" Robinson, but still. The Hold Steady have a straightforward rock 'n' roll sound, sing-along choruses and the kind of alcoholism that makes for great songwriting. Chris Neiles from Neile's Life (it's an outstanding blog besides just hosting these songs) posted three songs: Chips Ahoy!, Party Pit and Southtown Girls. They won't be up for very long, so go now and get them. I can only strongly recommend the first two, but get the last one anyway and then tell me what you think. Also, don't miss out on Vagrant, Stuck Between Stations and Positive Jam, both posted on Music For Kids Who Can't Read Good, which happens to be an excellent music blog as well.
That should get you started on some new stuff you may not already know about. Look for more posts like this in the future. Also, check back for reviews of shows and records soon. Oh, and let me know what you think of these bands. Leave a comment below. Thanks.
Well, I'm back after a long break (Sorry. Moving, bad Internet connection, blah, blah, blah) and it's time to talk a little about Cartel and their future.
For those who don't know anything about them, Cartel is a pop-punk band from Atlanta, GA. They are soon to record their second record, and therein lies the dilemma. The recording process is going to be televised on MTV (eMpTyV) on a show called "Band In a Bubble Presented By Dr. Pepper Featuring Cartel." For 21 days, the band will live in a transparent bubble on Chelsea Piers in Manhattan. Viewers will be able to watch the recording process and day-to-day life of the band both on the show and live via webcams. The band will not leave the premises for those twenty-one days, and cameras will be all over. At the end of the process, the band will come out of the bubble and play a gig. As with anything even vaguely punk rock, there is some controversy about the show.
Punknews.org reported on a spat between music industry figure Bob Lefsetz and Cartel's singer, Will Pugh. In an article from April 23, Lefsetz says:
Ever heard of Cartel? Not me. But I’m sure they can’t be making music I’m interested in. Music comes from inspiration, not marketing plans. Whoever convinced the act to be involved in this stunt, whether it be their manager or Charlie Walk or somebody else, should be exiled from the business immediately, made to live in said biosphere WITH the band, sans BlackBerry, sans dinners at Peter Luger’s, sans ANY of the creature comforts of modern society. Better yet, Cartel still has time to back out of this misguided stunt. Rather than become the David Blaines of music (and it’s not like Mr. Blaine gets any respect from magicians), Cartel can only save itself by issuing a press release REBELLING against such crap. Would the Sex Pistols listen to their label? Would they be playing it safe? Would they be tools of the marketing machine? Certainly not when they mattered, back in ‘76.
Read the whole article here. It's a harsh indictment of the band and their motives, to be sure. Lefsetz is basically calling them sell-outs. Will Pugh, Cartel's frontman, replied:
Of course this is a marketing ploy and a huge one at that. There’s not one person who reads about this fan or not that isn’t going to see this as a stunt. [...] The big point is that people who have never heard of us are hearing about us now. [...] All you guys think we’re just another dickless band with mediocre songs without even giving us a chance. Fuck selling records if that’s what you think this is all about. See, we only have one record. We’re about to record our 2nd. People don’t really know us from any other band on the radio or mtv. All that is about to change. This bubble shit is stirring up all kinds of dust around the music world. Its something people find ridiculous. People think we’re crazy, sellouts, whores and everything else negative they can think of. Some people see it as cool. (I would venture to say that most of these people don’t have their head up their asses about music in the sense that they don’t think they are the definitive source on music knowledge or "what’s wrong with the industry"). The big point is that people who have never heard of us are hearing about us now. I know that great bands get out there some way…..but how long does that take. Even the upstarts from left field don’t have a career long enough to even call them road tested…..shit, some of them have played less than 100 shows ever by the time they "make it".
The question is, is a major label band selling out by engaging in gimmicky marketing? Pugh points out that the band's first record, Chroma was released on an independent label called The Militia Group. Distribution for The Militia Group is done by Sony's RED Distribution. RED Distribution and Cartel's new label Epic Records are both owned by Sony BMG Music Group. It's hard to argue that The Militia Group is truly an independent label. The label itself is, but that's not saying much. Distribution is where money is made, and that's where Sony's grubby little fingers are. That said, I only know of one truly independent record distributor, and that is Southern Records, the distributor for Dischord and other independent labels. So Pugh is kind of right. Their first label is sort of independent and they graduated to a major label for their second record.
This band has always been on this track, and there is nothing wrong with that. For a lot of bands, going to a true major is the only hope for starting to recoup the money spent on previous releases. Now is the time for full disclosure: I have met Cartel, and their new (-ish) bassist, Jeff Lett (Wikipedia, MySpace). Jeff joined the band after they released their first record and right before they joined the 2006 Warped Tour. Also, I have seen Cartel three times, in three different venues, with three very different crowds. All three times, the crowd loved them. To address the "selling out" question: I don't think you can call this show selling out. I don't think it's any worse than what the really huge artists do. Jessica Simpson had some show with her husband, right? Is she a sell-out? No, in her genre of music, that's just promotion. And if it weren't for that show, I probably never would have heard of her. Or I would just think that she is the weird-looking chick from the Dukes of Hazzard movie I wouldn't see anyway.
The entertainment industry is always going to seek the lowest common denominator. That's how you get the most people interested in your product. High-brow entertainment isn't for the masses, it's for a select few. Cartel listeners will never listen to or even hear of Crass. But I bet a lot of them like NOFX, and you aren't gonna hear them called sell-outs no matter what they do, including calling themselves sell-outs.
Before anyone reams me for defending Cartel, I should tell you that I really don't care for their music. It's not awful, it just doesn't do anything for me. But I will watch this show (it better be funny, though). The fact of the matter is, whether you like Cartel or not, whether you think the show is a good idea or a marketing monstrosity, it will bring the band new fans. At the very least, a whole lot more people will know their name. Lefsetz already does. And in the end, that's the point.
What do you think of this? The mouthful of a show name, the fact that Cartel is doing it, or just that I think Jessica Simpson is weird looking? Any opinion at all, leave a comment below. Pick a fight with some teeny boppers for all I care, but say something. Thanks.
On the right side of the main page, about halfway down, you will find my new Google Reader widget. It shows you items I choose from the fifty or so different websites I read. Click "Read More" to see more articles. Enjoy. Leave me comments if you find something you think is interesting.
Also, I have added a Google map of all the venues from the show calendar. It's on the same page as the calendar, so just scroll down. Maybe now you can get to Jannus without guessing. I still can't. But I always get there. Here's what the map looks like:
I will add more to it as I find venues I don't already know. Next up: The Atlantic, in Gainesville. Anybody been there? Leave a comment.
The Show Calendar has been updated (actually, I update it every week) and there are lots of good shows coming. It's time to go see shows! Highlights and personal favorites include:
Lifetime with New Mexican Disaster Squad and The Draft (ex-HotWater Music) at The Social in Orlando April 27th. I already have my tickets. If you've never seen Lifetime, you must go see this show.
In my opinion, Red Room Cinema is one of the best bands in Tampa right now. They get better every time I see them. They recorded something recently, I believe. Hopefully it will be for sale. See them with me in Tampa on May 5th at the New World Brewery.
John Ralston, Owen, Ophelia in Tampa at the Orpheum on May 11th. I know nothing at all about John Ralston or Ophelia, but Owen is Mike Kinsella, of Cap'n Jazz fame. Should be a great show. Mike's stuff is solo, acoustic, and really good. Be brave, and go see it.
fak3r sent me a link to this video from Emo's in Austin, TX. He also posted a link to an entire live show from NPR. This show is incredible. It's a big file, but who cares?
Paint It Black will have a new record, and Dan makes it sound good. Also watch the video from The Fest.
Some damn fool Councilmember from DC wants to ban anyone under 21 from the city's clubs. The Black Cat and the 9:30 would be affected. The DC music scene would certainly be affected as well. Ian Mackaye has a response. Don't let DC go down.
Catlick Records released a benefit CD for Callum Robbins, son of AJ from Jawbox. It has 32 songs. One is by Jawbreaker. It is not an entirely new song, though. Just a demo recording. Still, it is a worthy cause and I love Jawbreaker.
There's nothing better than free music. Well, not much better, anyway. Here are some more places to find it. Read the first part of this article here.
MP3 Blogs
The Sound of Indie is a great blog run by someone I don't know who apparently has access to my record collection. I'm serious. It's like they break into my house in Tampa from their place in (I think) Minneapolis. Actually, now it's LA. Check it out. We have lots of good stuff.
One of my all time favorite labels is Kill Rock Stars. It's been the home of a lot of great bands, my current favorite of which is Deerhoof. Their looklistenwatch page has a few songs and videos for download, as well as a nice collection of posters and fliers (wish more labels, bands, etc. did this). At the top of the page you can click on each category to find more stuff. If you click "Sound," you're going to find some Born Against. You have been warned.
Second Nature Recordings, the home of Rocky Votolato, These Arms Are Snakes, The Blood Brothers and Reggie and the Full Effect, as well as the final resting place of Anasarca, has a ton of songs available for download. Just click the audio link at the top of the page.
Touch and Go Records is the label Kurt Cobain wanted to be on. And it is the label that Arcwelder, Blonde Redhead, Calexico, Don Caballero, June of '44, Man Or Astroman?, and a million other bands are on. Their Songs and Videos page has a lot of stuff available.
WARNING! I don't know a single other person anymore who can listen to this stuff. So go check out Stonehenge Records Their Media page has stuff you cannot handle, the likes of which you have never heard. Unless you have. Listen to the Fingerprint song first. Then Jasemine. That's the singer's next band. Also check out Amanda Woodward.
If you're going to download from labels, I suggest dragging the songs into a new playlist in iTunes. Name it for the record label, and when you find what you like, you will know where to go to buy it.
Google
There is a really simple way to find songs on Google using Smacki's Google Search. Just click the link, type the name of a band, and hit enter. Great for finding stuff you think lots of other people may have heard of.
I have decided to start sharing my Google calendar with all of you. It will permanently reside in this blog post, so click on the title and bookmark this post. If you have questions about how to use this calendar, or anything else, please leave a comment below.
Update: Now there is a map of venues here as well. I will be adding new venues as well, so keep checking back. Remember, you can always get here from the home page.
If you listen to any other kind of music than the mainstream schlock on the radio, then you know how hard it can be to keep up with bands. For instance, when I lived in DC I saw a band called Blank four or five times. They were great. Every time I saw them they were opening for someone else, and every time they were better than the headliner. But I forgot to ever buy one of their seven inches. Or maybe I never saw one for sale. Doesn't seem likely, but I really can't remember.
But now there's a new problem. Try searching Google for a band called Blank. The results you get are ridiculous. Only recently have I been able to find any good info on Google. I didn't know the names of any of the band members, and while I could remember what the covers of a couple of records looked like, I couldn't remember the names of any of them. Eventually I found a little bit of info: the singer's name. With that and a little more digging, I found his new band. But we'll get to that in another post. This article is about the good news.
There is a new website called BandtoBand.com, and it is made for situations like this. You can enter a band name and it will give you the names of members, and what other bands they have been in. Here is an example from their front page:
But it gets better than that. Let's say I want to find out what bands Tonie Joy has been in. OK I could just go dig around on Google, and I would probably find every band he's ever been in (I would, and it's because they are all good). Or I could enter him on BandtoBand and get pretty pictures. See the incomplete picture below right, also a screenshot of the website.
So now I know what bands he was in. I knew already, but I actually didn't know all of the records. But this is where it gets good. I know Tonie Joy was in Born Against with Sam McPheeters, cause if I click on the Born Against record from the previously mentioned image on the right, I find every single band member who recorded with Born Against (including their pseudonyms). I can find out what other bands Sam was in by clicking on his name. It's that easy. You could pretty much go forever this way, one band to the next. But what if there isn't a direct link between two bands?
My Favorite Part Let's say I want to know if Tim Kinsella (of Cap'n Jazz, Owls, Joan of Arc, etc.) ever played with any of the guys from Native Nod. Look for the Create Map box on the right side of the page, about halfway down.
Search those names and you have this ↓
It tells us that Eric Bocek was in Joan of Arc with Tim Kinsella and The Firebird Band with Christopher Broach. Broach was also in The Firebird Project with Chris Wilson, who was (or is) in Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, which also contains Dave Lerner, who was in Native Nod (so was Ted Leo, he is the brother of Chris Leo, the singer of Native Nod). Whoops. That was Danny Leo, another Leo brother. So we found a link. Not direct, but not that far away, either.
This is a great tool for finding out what happened to bands you loved in the past that broke up without a trace. Expect a slew of posts in the not-too-distant future about bands I find through this site. Have fun! Find somebody good. And please, let me know what you find, even if it turns out to be something that is, in retrospect, painfully obvious. Leave a comment below.
Summer Music Festival time is right around the corner! OK, I know that sounds absurd if it's right around freezing outside as you read this, but now is the time to start planning. Lineups have been at least partially announced for a lot of the big festivals already.
If you're not there right now, then you already missed a lot of SXSW, the South By Southwest festival. But the music doesn't start until March 14th, and goes to March 18th. Check out their lineup. This year, DirecTV will be broadcasting some of the shows live on channel 101.
Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festivalis four days long this year, June 14-17, and is held in Manchester, Tennessee. The Police are headlining. Other highlights include: Tool, The Flaming Lips, The Decemberists, The Hold Steady and Mute Math, among many others. The whole lineup is here. Ticket pricing is a little weird. As in years past, the first tickets are cheaper, at $184.50US, and will eventually rise to $214.50. For more ticket info look here. They have some good travel information on the site too, including details about their airport shuttle.
And I'm sure I will find plenty in the galleries in Chelsea to show you.
And you better believe I'm going record shopping. Last time I stopped in Generation Records I found a treasure trove, plus a store cat that took a shine to me.
Plus there's whatever else we do. I'll be here for a week still, but my head left yesterday. Can't wait!
Oh, and if you find yourself needing great maps and travel guides Not For Tourists have their entire guides online for free, in PDF format. I'm sure they would appreciate if you'd buy one. I used them last time I went. They are excellent guides in every conceivable way, but their best feature is the fact that they are essentially Moleskines. People write about these things incessantly for a reason.
There are lots of free, legal ways to get music on the 'Nets. Too many to keep track of really. So here are some to get you started filling up your hard drive and slowing down your computer. Unless you like porn. In which case your computer is probably already full.
Free Albums Galore has hundreds of complete records available for download. There's a good mix of genres, and bands you may actually have heard of like The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Danger Doom, Explosions In the Sky, Meat Puppets and many others. There is a lot of classical music, too: Bach, Brahms, Chopin, Debussy, Dvorak, Haydn, Mendelssohn and others grace the list.
Wikipedia has a post of every music genre ending in -core. Maybe someday I can pull together a post with an example of every genre. Oh wait, Christcore? Horrorcore? Raggacore? I think I'll pass. At least for now. Maybe someday I'll have the urge to listen to some Cuddlecore It's gonna have to be a pretty bad day, though.
If you listen to anything south of the mainstream, you have experienced the awful gut-wrenching feeling that comes with having missed seeing one of your favorite bands play live because you forgot (or maybe worse, because you didn't know about it in the first place). Those of us who have been there scour our local weeklies for the newest listings, we spend an inordinate amount of time on McSpace hunting for band pages (it just can't ever be as easy as www.myspace.com/INSERT_BAND_NAME_HERE, can it) and then we try to remember it all. Or put it in our handy little Palm things. Too often we forget, so this article is going to help you easily find shows, and put them in a simple place to find them again.
In Tampa the best listings are on an incredibly ugly but useful page: href="http://www.tampashows.net" target="_blank" title="Tampa Shows">Tampa Shows There are also venue pages, of course, and they are handy, too. Here's what I use for Tampa and the area:
State Media State Theatre, Jannus Landing and Orpheum. Tampa, St. Petersburg.
It can be a serious pain in the ass to figure out who is playing shows in your town. Luckily, there are some good web services to help you figure it out. A new one just launched, and while it isn't perfect, it's a pretty good resource.
Bee There is a new service that lets you search for shows by city. The listings aren't totally comprehensive, but are the best I've seen for non-local services.
Pod Bop gives you show listings and mp3s of the bands that are coming. Last time I checked it didn't have much for my area, but it has been growing, so check it out.
Ok, so you've found some listings. Wouldn't it be nice if they were on a calendar?
Using Google Calendar
By now you should have signed up with Google in one way or another (i.e. Gmail, Docs and Spreadsheets, or Reader. If you haven't, do. The Google services are great. They are easy to use and you can use them from anywhere.
Google Calendar gives you two ways to add events. You can click on a date and paste info from one of the sites above, or you can just search for something (i.e. Flaming Lips Tampa) and Google will automatically add the relevant event. I think it's easier to just copy and paste from the original page to the calendar, but that's just me. There is also a Firefox Extension for Windows called Google Calendar Quick Add. But I can't review it since I don't have Windows. Let me know if you use this extension, and if you like it. Leave a note in the comments.
The three best things about Google Calendars: One, you can access them from any computer with Internet access. Two, you can share your calendars with whomever you choose. Three, you can sync your calendar with Outlook or iCal on the Mac. Then Outlook or iCal will automatically pull the new data from your calendar whenever you open them.
Know of any good online show listings? I'm particularly interested in hardcore, indie, punk rock listings, but I'm open to others. But please don't tell me about Jambase. Screw Jambase.
This is Mike Vallely's band. Band site.
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the granddaddys of punk from Woodland Hills, CA. On 
The singing could use a touch more sobriety at times. But when they are good, they are really good. 
Anonymous | January 7, 2010 at 10:52 AM
Unknown | June 4, 2007 at 9:30 PM
