We always love to hook up our readers with some free shwag (and free merch too, haha). Today, thanks to the lovely people at ROCKWORLDEAST, we are able to offer our female readers a FREE t-shirt. It says “Pretty But Bitchy” if you can’t read it (Scroll all the way down to see the shirt!) We have the shirt in sizes S to XL. You should check out more of www.rockworldeast.com. Check it out, they have everything from AFI to ZZ Top! Oh yeah, if you want to win, just email us your name and t-shirt size and we’ll email you back if you win! (Note: Only open to contest entrants in the US)
Kyp Malone’s much anticipated solo project Rain Machine was September 22 on Anti-records. The provocative album art, created by Malone himself, is an appropriate indicator of the unique and defiantly personal music within. Rain Machine features ten unflinchingly original and emotional songs mixing elements of modern jazz, blue-grass and blistering guitar driven rock into a refreshing new sound. As singer and guitarist for celebrated band TV on the Radio, Malone proved himself both a captivating and delightfully unpredictable musical force. On Rain Machine, he shows himself a singer and a lyricist of startling talents. Malone recently described Rain Machine as “a nearly full spectrum of frequencies audible to the human ear, a reflection of a variety of emotions and situations real and imagined – some rhythm some rhyme.†In most instances such a statement could be dismissed as nothing more than playful hyperbole. This is not one of those times. Rain Machine is the sound of an extraordinary artist emerging into his own.
We want you to experience Rain Machine live in concert and on CD. We’re giving away two tickets to see Rain Machine at any of the dates below along with a copy of the album. All you have to do is email us your name and we’ll email you back if you win!
(Note: By entering the contest, you agree to share your email address with Anti- Records for their email list where they’ll inform you of the latest on Rain Machine and other quality bands and artists). For more on Rain Machine, go to www.myspace.com/rainmachinemusic.
Download the song “Give Blood” here (right click, save as) or stream it below:
[mp3]/wp-content/mp3s/Give Blood.mp3[/mp3]
Oct 9 Bottle Tree Birmingham, Alabama
Oct 10 One Eyed Jacks New Orleans, Louisiana
Oct 12 40 Watt Club Athens, Georgia
Oct 13 The Earl Atlanta, Georgia
Oct 15 High Noon Saloon Madison, Wisconsin
Oct 16 7th Street Entry Minneapolis, Minnesota
Oct 17 Double Door Chicago, Illinois
Oct 18 The Magic Stick Detroit, Michigan
Oct 19 Lee’s Place Toronto, Ontario
Oct 20 Il Motore Montreal, Quebec
Oct 22 Middle East Upstairs Cambridge, Massachusetts
Oct 23 Johnny Brenda’s Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Oct 25 Black Cat Washington DC, Washington DC
Nick Diamonds’ polymorphous pop band, Islands, is back with their third studio album, Vapours. The 2006 debut, Return to the Sea, found eccentric and mellifluous pop tunes performed with a cast of characters from Montreal’s thriving music scene (including members of Arcade Fire and Wolf Parade), helmed by Nick Diamonds and Jamie Thompson. Thompson departed amicably from the group shortly after the album was released, and 2007′s Arm’s Way found the band turning in a new direction towards lushly orchestrated, guitar-driven prog-rock. Thompson has returned to the band for Vapours, a record that flits back and forth between moody synthesizers and drum-machine-heavy beats, while remaining firmly rooted in the classic pop sensibilities and multitude of melodic hooks that Islands is known for.

Not only are we giving away a copy of Vapours, we’re also giving away a pair of tickets to see Islands live in concert to any of the dates below! All you have to do is email us your name AND which show you want to go to and we’ll email you back if you win!
(Note: By entering the contest, you agree to share your email address with Anti- Records for their email list where they’ll inform you of the latest on Islands and other quality bands and artists) For more on Islands, go to www.myspace.com/islands.
Download the song “No You Don’t” here (right click, save as) or stream it below:
To celebrate the release of Breaking Benjamin’s latest brand new album, Dear Agony, Shallow Bay (the official website of the band) will be hosting a special, radio program at Midnight Eastern time on 9/29. Fans will be able to hear the new album in its entirety and vocalist Ben Burnley will be on hand to discuss his band’s work. Registration on the Shallow Bay forum is required to join in on the listening party.
Those who pre-order Dear Agony from Best Buy will receive a free DVD featuring all of Breaking Benjamin’s official music videos, plus free shipping when the album arrives in stores on Tuesday the 29th. Visit Shallow Bay or Best Buy to order today. Their first single from the album, “I Will Not Bow,” is available now on iTunes.
Relentless energy filmed the punk rock band Gallows on Warped Tour for a 3 part film they’ve put together called ‘Lives Of The Artists’. The video features live performances, interviews with the band and behind the scenes footage from one of the year’s most talked about rising stars. Check out the trailer below and prepare for the full length version to be released this October. In the meantime, head over to the bands MySpace for the latest Gallows news and non-stop tour schedule.
Gallows Tour Dates:
USA and Canada:
2 Oct 2009 Epic w/ AFI Minneapolis, MN
3 Oct 2009 Reggie’s Rock Club (Headline) Chicago, IL
4 Oct 2009 Newport Music Hall w/ AFI Columbus, OH
5 Oct 2009 Bogart’s w/ AFI Cincinnati, OH
7 Oct 2009 Town Ballroom w/ AFI Buffalo, NY
8 Oct 2009 Northern Lights w/ AFI Clifton Park, NY
9 Oct 2009 The Crazy Donkey (Headline) Farmingdale, NY
10 Oct 2009 Starland Ballroom w/ AFI Sayreville, NJ
11 Oct 2009 Club Zoo w/ AFI Pittsburgh, PA
13 Oct 2009 Webster Theater w/ AFI Hartford, CT
14 Oct 2009 Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel w/ AFI Providence, RI
16 Oct 2009 Water Street Music Hall w/ AFI Rochester, NY
17 Oct 2009 Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom w/ AFI Hampton Beach, NH
19 Oct 2009 The National w/AFI Richmond, VA
21 Oct 2009 Sound Academy w/ Flogging Molly Toronto, ON
23 Oct 2009 The Outpost/Lakehead University w/ Flogging Molly Thunder Bay, ON
“Hope…a new beginning.
Time…time to start living, like just before we died.
There’s no going back to the place we started from.â€
“All Secrets Knownâ€
In late summer of 2008, at the suggestion of longtime friend/Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, Alice In Chains met with producer Nick Raskulinecz to talk about the possibility of collaborating on a new album.
“I went to the studio where they’d been working on demos,†recalls the producer, whose credits include Foo Fighters, Rush, Deftones. “We stayed outside and just talked for a couple of hours. After the ice was broken, they brought me inside to hear some music. The first track started playing and I was immediately hooked—the riff was so killer, so catchy and so heavy, and when the vocals kicked in, I looked at Jerry (Cantrell, Alice In Chains’ guitarist/vocalist) and said, ‘I don’t need to hear anything else—I’m in.’ I was just blown away.â€
By early fall, the band and producer had hunkered down at Grohl’s Studio 606 in Northridge, CA, and were hard at work on Alice In Chains’ first new studio release in more than 10 years.
Production eventually moved to the famed Henson Studios in Hollywood, and by spring of 2009 the band emerged with 11 electrifying songs about faith and perseverance. They titled the album Black Gives Way To Blue after the song of the same name, a heart-stirring tribute to Layne Staley, their brother and vocalist who passed away in 2002.
“I’m really proud of that song,†says Cantrell, who sings on the track (and shares lead vocal duties throughout the record). “It’s about facing up to the bad stuff and continuing to walk forward and live a life.â€
The song features a special guest appearance by Elton John on piano.
“We were thinking about adding piano to the track and a friend suggested we call Elton,†recalls Cantrell. “I remember laughing and saying, ‘Yeah, I’ll get right on that.’ But I decided it was worth trying and wrote him an email explaining what that song means to us—that it’s a real, raw openhearted song for Layne. We sent him the track and got a call shortly after saying he thought it was beautiful and that he wanted to play on it. He was finishing his ‘Red Piano’ run in Vegas, so we flew there and hung out for a few hours. Walking into a studio and seeing the sheet music for that song on Elton’s piano made it meaningful on so many different levels. The whole experience was pretty magical.â€
The album’s genesis can be traced back to January of 2005, when drummer Sean Kinney called Cantrell and bassist Mike Inez about getting together for a benefit show to raise money for tsunami relief. It was the first time in nine years that the three had performed together and following the loss of Staley, was the first in a series of little steps toward hope and healing.
“After that we started talking about how we could maybe do another show,†recalls Kinney. “Everyone was comfortable with the idea, so we decided to take another step.â€
Enter William DuVall, a gifted singer and guitarist from Atlanta who had previously worked with Comes with the Fall and as part of Jerry Cantrell’s touring band for his solo work. As live audiences discovered, DuVall brings a sound and stage presence all his own, and when DuVall and Cantrell blend their voices—as Cantrell and Staley did so often—singing together over the rhythms of Kinney and Inez, there could be little doubt that the spirit of Alice In Chains was once again alive and well.
“To his credit, Will never tried to do a karaoke version of the past,†says Kinney. “It’s not easy to find your place in a pre-existing dynamic, but he did. He puts his all into it and it fits.â€
“I’ve joined a group that has a strong identity and a strong legacy,” says DuVall. “Nobody wants to, in any way, disrespect or sully that legacy. You want to add to it.”
And it was while on the road that the quartet opened itself up to the idea of writing new material.
“On tour we jammed pretty much every day,†recalls Cantrell. “Cool riffs would come up and we’d record them backstage and in dressing rooms. By the time we got home from the tour, we had a disc full of ideas. Eventually we wound up with a body of work and started thinking about taking yet another step.â€
“There was no master plan,†adds Inez. “Everything felt right, so we kept moving forward. The whole process was very organic.â€
“If we had gone through all of it and felt that it didn’t live up musically to the legacy of the work we’d done before, then we would’ve shelved it,†says Cantrell. “We would’ve known for ourselves that this is the end, and that would’ve been cool. But that didn’t happen. You ask yourself questions like, is this record something positive to add to the catalog? Is it worthy? And the answer is yes, it is. But you don’t know that until you go through the process. We all busted our asses and have been rewarded with a record that exceeds our own expectations.
In the end, Cantrell explains, Black Gives Way To Blue is an album that reflects survival for Alice In Chains. “And,†he says, “I think survival is something to celebrate.â€
This weekend you probably went to one of the two sold out Phoenix and Passion Pit shows at Rumsey Playfield (Central Park) in NYC. If you didn’t, it’s alright. Lots of people took some pics and videos. Thanks to cschwa17 for the pics and pressie3 and JOEDONUT for the videos. You can check out a review and the setlist at Trust Me On This.
White Lies played Webster Hall on Friday night and were incredible. The best part about seeing a band like White Lies now is that since they’re so “new”, they’ll play pretty much every song they have. This is especially pleasing if you’re a White Lies fan as their debut album To Lose My Life… is nearly flawless, not one bad track. For about 45 minutes, there was no place better to be as frontman Harry McVeigh and the boys rocked Webster Hall with a twelve song set that included fan favorites “Death” and “Unfinished Business” as well as the well known “To Lose My Life”, “Taxidermy” (only previously available on the vinyl edition of To Lose My Life…) and a cover of the Portishead track “The Rip.” There were whispers in the crowd of the band’s sound being too similar of 80′s new wave pop rock but White Lies’s music is much more evolved and honest than most music from that period. The Violens opened the show but our reviewer only caught seconds of their performance. Check out the setlist, some pics and photos from the show below:
Setlist
1. Farewell to the Fairground
2. Taxidermy
3. To Lose My Life
4. From The Stars
5. Fifty On Our Foreheads
6. A Place To Hide
7. E.S.T.
8. Nothing To Give
9. Unfinished Business
10. Price Of Love
11. The Rip (Portishead cover)
12. Death
U2 were on Saturday Night Live last night (9/26) and performed “Breathe” and “Moment of Surrender” off of their album No Line On The Horizon (Buy on iTunes, Amazon MP3, CD) and closed with “Ultraviolet (Light My Way)” off of their classic album Achtung Baby (Buy on iTunes, Amazon MP3, CD). Check out the videos below:
, 
) and closed with “Ultraviolet (Light My Way)” off of their classic album Achtung Baby (Buy on 
, 
). Check out the videos below: 
