Bloodsimple are Back...

BLOODSIMPLE
“Red Harvest”
out digitally January 14th / physical releaase on January 21st 2008 on Bullygoat/Reprise Records

UK tour with Avenged Sevenfold in January!!!

Let’s face it, life isn’t pretty. Every evening, the news is full of grisly tales of murder, death and deception that not even Truman Capote could think up. While it only makes sense that a band like Bloodsimple would be birthed of out this chaos, no one could have expected the progression the band would make with the follow-up to their aptly titled 2005 debut ‘A Cruel World’ . Sure, ‘Red Harvest ‘ still sports grooves so deep you could get lost in them, but there’s a level of growth and maturity inherent in the disc that could have only been achieved by spending literally years together on the road and in the practice space.


“With this record, I really wanted to challenge myself, not to prove things to anyone else, but just for myself because I was bored,” explains hardcore music veteran Tim Williams. “We all wanted to write a more original record; we weren’t trying to rewrite the book on heavy music, but we just wanted to do something that was more organic and fine-tune our sound,” he elaborates. “We just constantly want to better ourselves with each record and I think that this album is the next logical step for us, you know?”

Formed in 2002 by Williams and guitarist Mike Kennedy (both of which were members of the legendary New York hard core band Vision Of Disorder), the band—which also features guitarist Nick Rowe and bassist Kyle Sanders—were initially discovered by Mudvayne vocalist Chad in 2004 and instantly hit the road (and held their own) with peers such as Otep, American Head Charge and Candiria. Since then, the band have toured with everyone from Stone Sour to Alice in Chains to Slayer, introducing their unique brand of groove-driven metal to anyone open-minded enough to listen and gaining fans all over the world.

“Whenever anyone has asked us to describe ourselves we’ve never been able to quit nail it on the head,” Sanders responds when asked how Bloodsimple are able to successfully tour so many seemingly disparate acts. “We don’t want to box ourselves into a corner where we can only do underground tours or hardcore tours—and I think we’ve been pretty successful with that,” he continues. “I think that we can hold our own with any band in the rock genre and that’s something that all of us are extremely proud of.”

Recorded in November and December 2006 at the Machine Shop in Hoboken, New Jersey, with producer Machine (Lamb Of God, Every Time I Die), Red Harvest shows the band implementing everything from spoken-word segues to actual singing into their seasoned brand of metal, and the result is one of the most sonically diverse albums in recent memory. For example, “Death From Above” sounds like vintage Metallica fronted by Phil Anselmo; “Dead Man Walking” sports a newfound melodicism that takes the band’s dynamics to the next level; and if the closing track “Numina Ifuscata” doesn’t get your body moving, well, there must be something clinically wrong with you.

Thematically, the album is based on the gritty 1929 detective novel of the same name and sees Williams stretching out his lyrics to create a story-like arc for the album. “On this record I really wanted to think up some stories, fictional or not, to draw the listener in and create characters that people could identify with,” he explains. “I really wanted to try to expand what I could do with words instead of writing about the run-of-the-mill stuff that heavy bands tend to write about, you know?” Thankfully, on Red Harvest artistic isn’t synonymous with pretentious—and despite the ambitious lyrical scope of the album, even the causal listener will be able to identify with songs like “Whiskey Bent And Hellbound.”

However, Williams is just ultimately happy that after being a prominent figure in the hardcore music scene for over a decade, people are not only curious, but captivated with what he has to say—and with Red Harvest it’s obvious that that level of interest is only going to increase. “I’ve been a part of this for so long and I feel so lucky,” he explains. “We go to Europe and I walk around and people see me and still come up to me and identify with what we’ve done,” he continues, pausing for a second to collect his thoughts. “I can’t believe people still care about what I’m doing sometimes; it’s pretty funny.”

The band hit the UK in January with Avenged Sevenfold. Dates are as follows:
JAN 17th SOUTHAMPTON GUILDHALL
JAN 18th NORWICH UEA
JAN 20th WOLVERHAMPTON CIVIC HALL
JAN 21st MANCHESTER ACADEMY
JAN 23rd NOTTINGHAM ROCK CITY
JAN 24th LONDON BRIXTON ACADEMY
JAN 26th LEEDS UNIVERSITY
JAN 27th CARDIFF UNIVERSITY
JAN 29th NEWCASTLE ACADEMY
JAN 30th GLASGOW ACADEMY
Bloodsimple are: Tim Williams – Vocals, Kyle Sanders – Bass, Mike Kennedy – Guitar, Nick Rowe – Guitar

The Six-Fiver Returns...

Buck 65 Hits the UK!
“Like pop music made by convicts at night in darkened cells”
***** Big Cheese
“Supremely Talented” - Kerrang
‘”The Modern Day Blues” - Mojo
“Abstract hip, hop but injects it with shots of cool, psych jazz and 70’s cinematic funk@ - Uncut

The multi-talented Buck 65 will return to the UK in March 2008 for his first full UK tour in support of his brilliant new album “Situation”(Warner Bros Records).

Drawing inspiration from the year 1957, Buck tackles a number of subjects on the album, based upon his opinion that the year 1957 created a legacy that affects the way we live and think 50 years down the line.

Make you catch Buck 65 at one of the following venues:

Mon 17 Mar 2008 Brighton Komedia
Tue 18 Mar 2008 Oxford Zodiac @ Academy
Wed 19 Mar 2008 Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
Thu 20 Mar 2008 UK Bristol Thekla
Fri 21 Mar 2008
Sat 22 Mar 2008 UK Liverpool Academy 2
Sun 23 Mar 2008 UK Manchester Roadhouse
Mon 24 Mar 2008 UK Glasgow King Tuts
Tue 25 Mar 2008 UK Leeds Cockpit
Wed 26 Mar 2008 UK Birmingham Barfly
Thu 27 Mar 2008 UK London Dingwalls

Ixnay on the Sharpay

High School Musical star Ashley Tisdale finally releases her album, "Headstrong" in the UK on October 15th.

Already named one of the worlds hottest stars under 25, Ashley rose to fame in the Disney show "The Suite Life of Zach and Cody" and onto global superstardom in High School Musical. To date, HSM has sold over 4 million copies and its sequal, HSM2 outsold its nearest competitor by 3 - 1 in its first week in the US....

Ashley's debut album saw her team up with some of the hottest writers in the business (Headstrong’s collaborators include The Matrix (Britney Spears, Hilary Duff), Kara DioGuardi (Gwen Stefani, Ashlee Simpson), Guy Roche and Shelly Peiken (Christina Aguilera), the legendary Diane Warren (Whitney Houston, Cher) and up-and-coming Swedish production team Twin)

The result is a positive, empowering message on such tracks such as the dancefloor-friendly Be Good To Me (co-written by DioGuardi), the buoyant Positivity (produced by Roche), the candid Love Me For Me (written by Warren), and Tisdale’s ‘independence anthem’ Headstrong (written and produced by the Matrix).

Ashley has co-written three of the album tracks (Over It, Suddenly and Not Like That) whilst He Said, She Said was produced by J.R. Rotem (Britney Spears, Destiny’s Child) and written by Rotem with Evan ‘Kidd’ Bogart (Rihanna) and Ryan ‘Alias’ Tedder (Jennifer Lopez)

What the Buck?

Buck 65 releases his new album "Situation" on Oct 29th on Warner Bros Records. Its somewhat of a concept record in that the recurring theme is the year 1957. Produced by Buck 65 and Skratch Bastid, Situation sees more of a return to the six-fivers Hip Hop roots.

There is a great "Show and Tell" section of his website...check it out

Cardboard City News

NY based DJ/production team SPORTS (comprised of Nick Hook, Daryl Palumbo & Glue) will be releasing their debut MIX CD entitled, "I'm Hungry." This eclectic mix is a 70+ minute selection of breakbeats, freestyle, electro, ghettotech and funky house/disco. "I'm Hungry" will be a hand numbered, limited edition pressing of 1,000 copies with full color art!

"After many talks about working on some music together, the stars aligned and we were all home at the exact same time. We spent some time in the lab and hammered out a mix full of music we love, cut up/remixed/re edited for your listening and dancing pleasure. We also hope to come play music in your town on a bunch of turntables, keyboards, vocoders, and whatever else will fit in our carry on bags."

LET'S PLAY!!
glue.daryl.hook

For information on how to get this fantastic record - drop me a line...

Judge Dred

"It's about bloody time!" I hear you cry! Thats right, Skindred are back with a BRAND NEW studio album!!! Hurraaaaah!

ROOTS ROCK RIOT will be released in the UK on October 29th on Bieler Bros./ Atlantic Records.

The guys have been in the Bieler Bros studios in Florida with Matt Squire (Panic! At The Disco) and have created an original, diverse, exhilarating rock record. Stand out tracks include the killer single "Rat Race", the pulvarising "Destroy The DanceFloor" and my personal favourite "Cause Ah Riot".

Skindred embark on a huge US tour with Nonpoint on Oct 26th. Look out for news of a UK tour here soon....

Whistle While You Work....

Deftones are hard at work in a Sacramento studio on the follow up to 2006's Saturday Night Wrist. 2008 will be an exciting year in the world of Deftones as it will be their 20th Anniversary... stay tuned to this blog for some exciting announcements...

In the meantime, you can keep up-to-date with their recording shenanigans on their official website.

Never Say Die....

This mammoth beast of a tour rolls into the UK on November 5th. The line-up is packed to the brim with the creme de la creme of hardcore - Comeback Kid, Parkway Drive, Cancer Bats, This is Hell and The Warriors. This is one tour NOT TO BE MISSED!

Tickets are available from the usual agents (try aloud.com) or the venues.

Get your asses down to one of the following venues. See ya in the Pit

Nov 05 UK Brighton @ Concorde 2
Nov 06 UK London @ The Electric Ballroom
Nov 07 UK Manchester @ Jillys Rockworld
Nov 08 UK Glasgow @ King Tuts
Nov 09 UK Sheffield @ Corporation
Nov 10 UK Yeovil @ Ski Lodge

Minor Threat...

Video-channel-take-over-pop-rock-top-20-single-smash-hit-new-poster
-boys-of-rock Elliot Minor take over the United Kingdom this month with their electrifying live performance at the following venues.
October:
12th Edinburgh Cabaret Volitaire
13th Aberdeen The Tunnels
14th Glasgow King Tuts
18th Manchester Academy 2
19th Sheffield The Plug
20th Newcastle Carling Academy
22nd Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall
23rd Nottingham Trent Uni
24th Bristol Anson Rooms
26th London Mean Fiddler
27th Leeds Met Uni
29th Dublin Whelans

November:
4th Belfast The Limelight

In support are the very wonderful YouMe@Six and Enjoy Destroy.

Elliot Minor's muse-esque single "The White One Is Evil" is out on Reposession / Warner Bros. Records on October 29th. The video is currently riding high in the video channel chart wars see the (Corin Hardy directed) video on The Box, Kerrang, Skuzz and The Hits right now!

Against Me! New Single & UK Tour!

photograph by Ryan Russell

Against Me! will release the new single, “Thrash Unreal” taken from “New Wave, their fourth album and debut for Sire Records / Warner Bros. Records, on October 22nd. The Florida-based quartet recently played two sold-out London shows at the 100 Club and the Underworld to showcase the new record.

Produced by Butch Vig (Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins) and recorded in Los Angeles, the album is less of a folk/punk hybrid than their previous releases with a streamlined rock sound. “I wanted to write about topics that other people can identify with,” commented vocalist/guitarist Tom Gabel. “This is a straight-across-the-board rock record.”

The band return to the UK for a full headline tour in October. Against Me! also performed at this years Reading/Leeds festivals.

The tour dates are as follows:
October:
25th Belfast Limelight
26th Glasgow Garage
27th Leeds Cockpit
28th Oxford Zodiac
29th Brighton Concorde 2
20th Manchester Academy 3
31st Birmingham Academy 2

November:
1st London Electric Ballroom

Against Me! released their first full-length album, Reinventing Axl Rose, in 2002 on No Idea Records. They then signed to Fat Wreck Chords for the albums As The Eternal Cowboy (2003), Searching For A Former Clarity (2005) and Americans Abroad!!! Against Me!!! Live In London!!! (2006).

Henry Rollins Hits The UK....

Musician, writer, actor, spoken word maestro, Henry Rollins returns to the UK for a full spoken word tour in January 2008. Currently performing at the Edinburgh Fringe, Henry will be performing at the following venues:

January 2008
26th London, Hammersmith Apollo - £16.50 (box office 0870 400 0688)
27th Bristol, Colston Hall - £16.50
(box office 0117 9299008 / www.seetickets.com)
28th Wolverhampton, Wulfrun Hall - £17.50
(box office 0870 320 7000 /www.wolvescivic.co.uk)
29th Ireland, Dublin, Vicar St
(box office 0818719390 / www.ticketmaster.ie)
30th Manchester, Academy - £17.50
(box office Manchester - 0161 8321111 / www.gigsandtours.com)
31st Newcastle, Academy - £16.00 (box office 0844 477 2000)

February 2008

2nd Aberdeen, Music Hall - £17.50 (box office 01224 641122)
3rd Glasgow, Theatre Royal - £16.00 (box office 0870 904 3444)

Henry Rollins joined the Southern California band Black Flag as vocalist in 1981. Upon the demise of the legendary punk band in 1986, he formed the Rollins Band and has been making records and touring the world ever since. Beyond taking the stage as a musician, Henry does speaking dates all over the world every year and, along with the band dates, has averaged over one hundred shows a year for twenty-five years. Recently he has also spent time visiting troops on behalf of the USO traveling to Kyrgyzstan, Qatar, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Iraq, Honduras, and Egypt in the process.

Never one to confine his performances strictly to the stage, Henry has performed in several movies and TV shows including Bad Boys II, Heat, and Drew Carey. Grammy nominated for both his work with the Rollins Band and the spoken word performance of his own book Get in the Van, Henry currently occupies his time chatting up heavy hitters as the host of IFC’s The Henry Rollins Show, introducing listeners to hidden gems on his weekly radio show, and running 2-13-61, a publishing company he created to release books, CDs and DVDs of his own along with the work of others such as Henry Miller, Iggy Pop and Nick Cave.

Parkway Drive Album "HORIZONS" OUT NOW!!!

Go get it! The brilliant new Parkway Drive album is in the shops today! Planet Loud think it will "set the benchmark for metal albums to come". So there. Make sure you catch the band on the "Never Say Die" tour in November with fellow noisemongers - Comeback Kid, This Is Hell, Cancer Bats and The Warriors!