Decapitated - Carnival is Forever (2011)

6/29/11 12:50AM

New song "Homo Sum," good song, namely the bridge.

6/19/11 12:51PM

Album preview: pretty technical and brutal. Not all that different, but still worth holding optimism about.



5/31/11 11:37AM

well if you don't want to go to the Wikipedia page the cover art, track list and the release date being July 12th, 2011 are there and now passed along here.



1. The Knife
2. United
3. Carnival Is Forever
4. Homo Sum
5. 404
6. A View From A Hole
7. Pest
8. Silence



5/16/11 1:47AM

video added (although it's not incredibly new given the upload date being February 2010).


5/9/11 6:16PM


Facebook link

Polish technical death metal band DECAPITATED have selected Carnival Is Forever as a title of their fifth studio album and Nuclear Blast debut.

A few words from the guitarist & founding member Vogg on the album title:

"Carnival: war, rape, lies, pathology, evil displayed through certain events and situations of the latest years in the world. Is Forever - I guess it doesn't need explaining. Both the text and the title are bitterly ironic. The author of the title and all lyrics is Jarek Szubrycht (Lux Occulta, author of world’s first biography of thrash metal legends Slayer (“No mercy”)).


Carnival Is Forever is the follow-up to 2006’s Organic Hallucinosis and was produced by Wacek Kiełtyka and sound engineered by Malta Arkadiusz Malczewski. Drums & mixing duties were handled by Daniel Bergstrand (BEHEMOTH, MESHUGGAH, DIMMU BORGIR, KEEP OF KALESSIN, DEFLESHED). The band will be self-releasing the new album in their native Poland.


DECAPITATED's line-up includes: Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka on guitar, Kerim "Krimh" Lechner (Thorns Of Ivy, Tone Intimacy) on drums, Rafał Piotrowski (Ketha, Forgotten Souls) on lead vocals, and Filip "Heinrich" Hałucha (Vesania, Rootwater, Unsun, Masachist) on bass.

At 1 time, not long after I discovered liking this band, I assumed their would be no more, when learning of the death of their drummer Witold "Vitek" Kieltyka in a car crash.

Mastodon - Deathbound

a Mr.Rogers parody of sorts on Adult Swim. This is a B-side (and not a single or new song off the upcoming record The Hunter.

Frankly, I don't really think all that much of the song. The video is mildly amusing though.

The Book of Right On - All These Songs About Music (2010)

1 Pinpointing the Exact Moment Hollywood Said Good Enough 5:18
2 Year of the Acronym 4:28
3 Obligatory Jam for the Lady Folk 3:51
4 Manchild at the Helm 4:50
5 Frankly, Ms. Janke 3:07
6 Silk Scarves & White 'Zin 5:04
7 Sense of Entitlement is the New Herpes 6:57

Wow, yet ANOTHER local Minnesota band who are really good, who I just heard about. This band opened for Zebulon Pike on Saturday night at the Triple Rock. There's more to why I even ended up at that show, and ZP themself which hopefully I can share soon in here.

But this band more or less floored me. After their set, I had to pick up both this record on vinyl (+ a download card of course) along with a limited to 100 pressing 7" single of theirs which I have yet to hear actually (no d/l card, although it's supposedly online on 1 of their links to stream).

But referring to this, their debut LP of around 30 minutes, it's pretty much without an uninteresting song. Quite percussive, very organic sounding at times, and many of the songs transition rather well into different sections, including 1 with I think 3-part vocal harmonies. They even use 2 drummers at times, one of them named Kelly, also plays keys and guitar.

The lead vocals are a bit odd, and pretty lyrical in emphasis, but at the same time, the lyrics seem so random and esoteric, they almost sound like they are being used for-how-they-sound (rather than what they mean literally).

I should try reading through them though, as I have yet to do so, and I recall noticing on their myspace blog seeing them posted. And in chatting with their trumpet/sax player, David I think he said his name is, the lyrics are rather significant to what they're doing. Their singer, seems rather opinionated, almost to the point of outspoken-ness, but I think he actually gives them a distinct element that adds a lot to what they are doing. At the show on Saturday, at one point, he was doing a Spoken Word of sorts and ranting pretty good at times. And I guess some of the Hip-Hop fans/community actually digs them, perhaps even just due to that side of the band.

Is there any spoken-word specifically on this album? no, not really. But there certainly are many moments to enjoy. I guess comparing them to other music, stuff like Primus, Battles, or King Crimson makes a little bit of sense, but the melodies, namely from the guitar parts, really adds more to their style.

At times they're atonal or just rythmically driven, but other times the melodic sense shines.

My only really criticism about this album is how short it is. It seems more like an EP being only 7 songs and about half an hour. I guess that's why among other reasons, I am really curious on what they do next. Definitely one of the best new bands, or bands in general, in Minnesota. And one of the best I've found out about for the 1st time in 2011.

Minnesota, land of 10,000 sadly unknown, yet still incredible bands. The Book of Right On being another, and one of the best, which a lot more people would like if they were given the exposure to them. Including the progressive rock scene, as they are most definitely doing (the good kind of) prog. They should get on bills with local bands like Brice Plays Drums, The Royal Veil or even Run at the Dog among a number of others.

The Book of Right On facebook
Reverb Nation

Fair to Midland - Arrows and Anchors (artwork background)

Kind of cool to learn about how they made/came-up with the artwork. The artist I met at 1 of the shows at The Rock "Eye Sack" I recall is his screen name on the fans forum.

Experiment: Chatroom

Get your own Chat Box! Go Large!


This may be totally pointless and go nowhere, but perhaps if even just for Tuesday nights during Used Bin Radio, if posted/linked on their forum (and maybe emailed/facebook and twitter shamelessly-plugged) it might bring some of the regular UsedBin Radio listeners to chat live during the show. At least until the guys set up their own chatroom on the site.

There is the chatroom on the purerockradio.net site, but I don't think most people who listen to the show even know or think to go there for Used Bin Radio.

Of course, if this seems to not do anything (or bring in the trolls, such as at least 1 of the rooms I stumbled into last night in Turntable.fm), said chatroom will be gone. But hopefully that'll never have to happen.

Turntable.fm and Listeningroom.net

These are I guess quasi official chat/dj-playing rooms for this blog. On turntable, multiple djs more or less have to happen to have relevance really.

AllMediaReviews
if the time/desire and INTEREST happens
On Turntable.fm
on ListeningRoom.net

maybe I'll elaborate more soon (later today?). But this might be something cool, but then again, it might suck and more or less just be an extension much of the trolling content on sites like last.fm and youtube especially.

Plus the big issue can and probably always will be, attention span. If you play a 12 minute song, many people will tune-out/leave etc. But many of the best songs are not 3 minutes or less, so there lies the flaw with not the setup/software, but mentality of most new listeners to music.

And in-truth, it's really nothing new. Just go back 15+ years to the music listening rooms in mIRC.

*Shels - Plains of the Purple Buffalo (2011)

6/22/11 11:33PM

facebook post

The album, Plains of the Purple Buffalo will be in stores July 11th - pre-orders ship out June 27 from http://www.shelsmusic.com

6/10/11 5:46AM

*shels - Plains of the Purple Buffalo - part 2 by Shelsmusic

yes, this new song sounds breathtaking at times. Namely the trumpet and peaks with the vocals kind of soaring. I'm getting more excited for this record now.


5/18/11 1:00AM


This is a bit weird. Why I say that;

*Shels are a band I have listened to in the past. April of 2008 apparently. But when I last listened to them? fuck if I recall. But for some reason, I remember liking them, but thought they broke up. And they're based in Los Angeles according to rateyourmusic.

Anyway, they released an album the year before that in 2007 Sea of the Dying Dhow that I apparently checked out, liked, but didn't go back to many times.

Well so some stuff has been posted over the last few years about their follow-up I guess (and nothing about their breakup?)

Now listening to the below Youtube video of "Conference of the Birds" I do remember why I dug them. Post-Rock of a sort. Maybe a bit like No Sound?



but anyway, this 2nd LP of theirs is coming, and the 1st song/sample is online now "Vision Quest." And this new record is expected to be released on June 27th (and not 18th as it says on rateyourmusic). I'll try and add more, even just a follow-up to revisiting their debut record again.

*Shels - Vision Quest by Shelsmusic

shelsmusic.com
*Shels on Facebook
*Shels on myspace

Warpaint 60 Seconds Acapella from Hip4K

I honestly do not recognize it (maybe I should). But if I were given 60 seconds by that pathetic website, I'd probably make it as un-hipster-like as I could. Maybe cram as many notes into 1 performance as possible and call it "we can be prog: deal with it hipsters"

Jimmy Gnecco - Mystery (Video)

new video for this tune off The Heart. Odd how the year says "Bright Antenna 2009" it must have been shot awhile back. The girl in the video kind of threw me off, because I thought I recall reading/hearing this song was largely about his mother, but most of the record is, yet it's vague lyrically still.

Jimmy has some upcoming tour dates

6/24/2011 Philadelphia, PA Northstar 9 pm
6/25/2011 Greensboro, NC Blind Tiger, 8pm
6/29/2011 Atlanta, GA Rodriguez Room @Goat Farm, 9 pm
6/30/2011 Birmingham, AL Pale Eddie’s, 9 pm
7/2/2011 New Orleans, LA AllWays Lounge, 10 pm
7/5/2011 Orlando, FL The Plaza LIVE, 8 pm
7/7/2011 Nashville, TN 12th & Porter, 8 pm
7/8/2011 Columbus, OH Rumba Café, 8 pm
7/10/2011 Cambridge, MA T.T. The Bear’s, 10:15 pm
7/14/2011 Vienna, VA Jammin Java, 8 pm solo show
7/15/2011 New York, NY Culture Fix, 10 pm solo show
7/17/2011 New York, NY Studio at Webster Hall, 8 pm
7/28/2011 Denver, CO The Walnut Room, 8 pm
7/31/2011 Scottsdale, AZ Martini Ranch, 9 pm
8/3/2011 Austin, TX Stubb’s BBQ (inside room), 10 pm
8/5/2011 Dallas, TX The Prophet Bar, 8 pm

with more tba, hopefully Minneapolis/St.Paul will be in there.

New somewhat detailed Mike Mangini Interview

nice interview. Mike is a gabber. Insight, by one of the international fanclubs.

Battle Circus - Battle Circus (2011)

Uh, yeah this is pretty good. I guess just initially, the 2 extended, multi-part songs "Much Like Mescaline" and "Flying Machine" stand out. But I don't think there was a song I didn't like, and am optimistic enjoying more with time. One thing to say, the Muse similarities/influence is not really all that much on this album, maybe save for "Utopium" which I guess is a song from their early days.

But this album could be described as Theatrical or Art-Rock in many ways. The use of Cello and other strings add some to it, along with piano.

The vocals vary, almost to the point I wonder if there's more than 1 lead singer. At times their singer sounds a bit like Tim DeLaughter of The Polyphonic Spree.

But this is without question prog rock. A rather notice-able Pink Floyd influence in the textures and moody, ambient at times, instrumental sections.

Another comparison could be The Dresden Dolls in a way. The Red Paintings get compared to them, so that doesn't surprise me.

But at the same time, the combination of styles, strings, melodramatic/operatic elements (esp with the vocals), heavier sections, and psychedelic parts kind of make this pretty original sounding. Even just the vocals at times sound pretty distinct.

This should be getting more mileage in the coming weeks for me. Hopefully others as well. And the fact they reside in the US, the chances of seeing them live seems pretty realistic (compared to many other bands from down under, namely).

http://battlecircus.bandcamp.com/



1. Beggar Turns Thief 06:15
2. Send In The Clones 03:46
3. Galacticus 04:14
4. Crush 05:25
5. Much Like Mescaline 14:08
6. Clockwork 06:53
7. Coup de Silence 04:41
8. Flying Machine 09:26
9. Utopium 05:05
10.Discord 05:24




I haven't heard this yet. The brief story about this band; they're originally from New Zealand, and released some kind of debut LP in 2007 titled The Half-Light Symphony. I checked them out not all that long after via a friend on the Ours forum.

Their style of music was kind of similar to Muse. Sort of heavy, riffy, poppy, college-prog. And their singer at times reminded me of Matt Bellamy. So the truth was, I kind of found them a bit derivative, but the songwriting from the samples sounded a bit promising.

I do recall hearing about their next album coming soon, maybe as far back as late in 2009. 2010 I recall putting it on my anticipation list. It never came out of course. Then maybe 2 months ago I saw them post about releasing a new single and touring and now residing in the USA (New Jersey I think?). The new single or Self-Titled EP I checked out I probably liked more than anything I'd heard from them before.

So, now with this record, I think the bar and excitement to hear it has been raised a little. Another band I suppose some might compare them to would be the mysterious Art (visual and metaphorical) rock band The Red Paintings who also originate from down under. But unlike TRP's, it finally seems these guys are showing some activity outside of their native country. And on record (when The Red Paintings fan-funded album will come out? who knows).

The above bandcamp link is a name-your-price digital album (at this point). If this is even half as good as I hope, I shall be naming a pretty reasonable (digital) price soon.

2.0/edits/to-be-added-to in due time...

facebook
twitter

Arch/Matheos - Sympathetic Resonance (2011) (1.0)

6/20/11 10:48PM



edit okay, Jim does clarify the differences a bit there. Huh. Now, I'm a tad less optimistic about it, only in that given how much control John had. I dunno. The quotes from John Arch in the story as well.

I guess it's all words, and until hearing it, the differences might not mean any thing (or even be noticed/a factor on how good it is).

http://www.metalblade.com/news/06-20-11-04.html

Arch /Matheos: Band sets "Sympathetic Resonance" as the title of upcoming debut full-length album Fates Warning guitarist JIM MATHEOS and original vocalist JOHN ARCH team up for new band!

As previously announced, Jim Matheos (current member of the progressive rock powerhouse Fates Warning and OSI) and John Arch (former vocalist of Fates Warning) have teamed up to form the new progressive rock band, ARCH/ MATHEOS. The band -accompanied by Joey Vera on bass, Bobby Jarzombek on drums, and Frank Aresti on additional lead guitar- began tracking the drums on January 12 and continued to record through mid February with Jim Matheos producing. ARCH/ MATHEOS is pleased to announce Sympathetic Resonance as the title of the debut album, which will be released September 13, 2011 in North America.

Jim Matheos offered his insight on the writing and recording process of Sympathetic Resonance; "I think John and I work really well together. There's a lot of mutual respect and trust in what we do.
But, we're also both very critical of ourselves, and each other. This can make for a long and, sometimes, tedious process. But ultimately it's one I enjoy because I think it brings out the best in both of us." John Arch added; "When I first heard some of the arrangements Jim had written and recorded, it took quite some time before I could wrap my mind around the odd time signatures and guitar work going on here.
There are some long compositions, so putting anxiety and apprehension on the back burner it was time to dissect these numbers into digestible bits. After the lengthy process of lyrics and melodies, listening to the songs now, I can't imagine them any other way." In terms of the lyrical content on Sympathetic Resonance, John Arch notes that "the lyrics this time around are more in line with A Twist of Fate and not of the mystical nature of some past albums."

More details will be released over the coming months so be sure to stay tuned to MetalBlade.com. ARCH/ MATHEOS pages on Facebook and Twitter coming soon!

Lineup:
John Arch – vocals (Fates Warning)
Jim Matheos – guitars (Fates Warning, OSI) Joey Vera – bass (Armored Saint, Anthrax, Fates Warning, Seven Witches) Bobby Jarzombek – drums (Halford, Fates Warning, Sebastian Bach, Riot) Frank Aresti - additional lead guitar (Fates Warning)

Damn, what a great thing to read about on my 35th birthday. I like many things about this. It's still my #1 anticipated record. The title and quotes sounds like it may be an extension of AToF which I can't lie, is more or less exactly all I'd ever hope for.

Damn, September 13th, the parents 40th anniversary, new Arch/Matheos, Dream Theater, St.Vincent and possibly more.


5/10/11 7:51PM

Brian Slagel of Metal Blade posted this on twitter over the weekend:

Great to see John Arch and Jim Mateos last night. Album is AMAZING!!! They will be doing tons of press as well. Out in Sept. 1:25 PM May 7th via web

I also noticed they aren't clear on the NAME of the band yet. "Arch/Matheos" or "A/M" perhaps.

Good news to read about my most anticipated record of 2011.


1/19/11 7:27PM

Previous post on 1/12/11

Arch / Matheos currently tracking in the studio

AGOURA HILLS, Calif. – January 19, 2011 – Jim Matheos (current member of the progressive rock powerhouse Fates Warning and OSI) and John Arch (former vocalist of Fates Warning) are currently working together on a new full-length album that will be released in late spring/early summer via Metal Blade Records. The band, called ARCH / MATHEOS, began tracking the drums on January 12 and will continue to record through mid February with both John Arch and Jim Matheos producing the album.
ARCH / MATHEOS features an all-star lineup including the talents of Joey Vera on bass (Armored Saint, Anthrax, Fates Warning, Seven Witches), Bobby Jarzombek on drums (Halford, Fates Warning, Sebastian Bach, Riot), and Frank Aresti on additional lead guitar (Fates Warning). More details will be released over the coming months so be sure to stay tuned to FatesWarning.com & MetalBlade.com

So the other post from last week was a partial false-start. Arch/Matheos is the moniker; which actually makes a lot of sense, given Jim co-wrote "Relentless" on John's EP.

Glad to see more info as I noticed the post Joey Vera made on facebook last week was pulled a few days later. It got me worried. I'm frankly, ecstatic anticipating hearing this, as when I read the bit from Joey Vera last week about learning new John Arch tunes, that album immediately became my most anticipated record for 2011, or for that matter, in a number of years.

The only question that this raises is with all of the Fates Warning guys involved save for Ray Alder (obviously), I wonder if the next FW record is not gonna happen. Jim has OSI this year as well, and Ray is kind of busy with Redemption I think.

As a Fates Warning fan, I'm a little concerned given the group has taken long backseats to these other projects. I mean Bobby and even Joey for that matter (and Frank too) came/came back to playing with Jim from what I read was for Fates itself.

But at the same time, maybe this is what they're doing. I adore John and Jim's writing especially (save for the recent OSI, lol). I guess if the next Ray Alder-involvement with these guys (save for John, or who knows, maybe John could also comeback in some way?) is pushed back another year or 2, I'm still happy; since for many years of course the belief was John may never do anything else after that landmark EP from 2003.

Summer/Upcoming TV Schedule

Every Year it seems like this happens. There's all these shows that I learn of not long before they premiere. So, 2011, is no different. I need to get this down just get a better idea of how to keep track of when everything is, when it premieres, and what day of the week its on.

USA Network:
White Collar: 6/7 (Tuesdays 8PM)
Covert Affairs: 6/7 (Tuesdays 9PM)
Burn Notice: 6/23 (Thursdays 8PM)
Suits: 6:23 (Thursdays 9PM)
Royal Pains: 6/29 (Wednesdays 8PM)
Necessary Roughness 6/29 (Wednesdays 9PM)

Psych: Fall 2011
Fairly Legal: Winter 2012
In Plain Sight: don't really watch anymore, but I believe it's still on Sunday nights.

SyFy Channel:
Warehouse 13: 7/11 (Mondays at 8 or 9PM)
Alphas: 7/11 (Mondays at 9PM) David Strathairn
Battlestar Galactica Chrome?
Three Inches? a 30-min show with James Marsters. But the idiot who runs their twitter will never answer my question about it.
The Munsters?
The Lotus Caves?

Starz:
Torchwood: July 8th (Fridays at 8PM or 9PM)

AMC:
Breaking Bad: July 17th (Sundays at 8PM)
The Killing: April (Sundays at 8PM)
The Walking Dead (October 2011)

HBO/Other
True Blood: June 26th (Sundays at 9PM?)
Sherlock (Stephen Moffat of Doctor Who, Autumn 2011)

BBC America:
Come Fly With Me
Outcasts: 6/18 (US Premiere)
Doctor Who (Saturdays at 8PM)


A&E:
The Glades 6/5 (Sundays)

TNT
Falling Skies: 6/19 (Sundays 9PM)

ABC:
The Hot Zone 6/21 (Tuesdays?)
Take the Money and Run 6/27 or 7/28 according to this

The Dear Hunter - The Color Spectrum: a few comments

lakeandtheriver blog post

Sucker made it to #3 on Amazon

First of all, welcome everybody to the other side. If you’re reading this you’ve had at least 24 hours to get your Color Spectrum on. The official fan forums are lighting up with new members and immense praise. Twitter is filled with nothing but TDH love. Here on Tumblr we’re seeing all sorts of reblogging. Yesterday was a very big day indeed.

For those of you not following us on Twitter, let me recap some of the biggest Color Spectrum news from yesterday:

1. Peaked at #3 on Amazon’s Hot New Alt. Rock Releases. (proof!)

2. Made it to #18 on Amazon’s Hot New Releases

3. Topped out at #6 on the Movers and Shakers list

I don’t have stats for other mediums (and I have to get to work soon) but The Color Spectrum took off in a major way, and it’s in large part due to you awesome fans. Let me share with you what the ever humble Mr. Casey Crescenzo had to say about the launch efforts:

How to start this..?

For the past 5 years I have been working without pause on trying to be the best I could be at this strange thing I do- doing my best to power through any hurdle that presented itself, be it personal or professional. I have always written from the heart, and done my best to remain transparent as an artist and an individual.

You guys have been with me the whole way, and have given me such amazing inspiration throughout this strange birth of a ‘career’. Simply writing here is not enough to show you how grateful I am, and I wish there was a more tangible way for me to show you, but I just want you to know in your hearts that it means the world to me, and that I know for a fact I would not be anywhere close to where I am if it weren’t for the unwavering support and love you have shown me.

It is incredibly humbling that you have all been so kind to me, and I hope with every future release you feel more and more gratitude, because it is most certainly due to you.

Thank you guys so much.

(viewable on the forums here)

So we made a difference, and should be proud of our support.

But that was only the first day! While it seems like that was the most important part, what we really should be doing is continuing to support this release. So here’s your post-launch plan: promote like crazy.

Tweet about your favorite ep/song (use the #colorspectrum tag!), blog and reblog others (and tag appropriately!), share the streaming tracks with friends, change your profile picture to your favorite ep cover art, join the forum and discuss more ways to keep the interest level high,write a review of the album (either on a blog or on the site you purchased from), suggest the $8 compilation instead of the full collection for your cheap friends, or think of a new awesome way to represent.

We’d love to hear more suggestions on how to keep this multicolored ball rolling! Submit your ideas in whatever way you see fit. We’re listening to you (because we are fans just like you)

that all being said, I have perhaps a short and long, or just LONG commentary about it and a few other related things.

but here's a post I made over at mp.com

Orange for me is definitely one of the better ones. Echo and Stuck On a Wire, Out on the Fence are both great tunes.

Early on, I'd say Orange and Indigo are my favorites. "Mandala" and "Progress" are both 2 of the better songs in this collection.

However, I'm starting to be of the belief

a) this "collection" is really not so much a collection of songs, but EPs of course, thus it's not really incredibly *cohesive*. It ain't a CONCEPT album/boxed set. The only part of it being the fact each EP represents a color.

b) it's of course pretty effing long. 36 songs, some 144 minutes? Sadly, I'm doubting how addictive it will become ultimate, thus it's chances for a high placing in the Album of the Year Index may not be so great now thinking about it.

c) there are *highlights* or standout tracks, but also mood or even sort of *filler* tracks, which seem to be slated for the Color they represent.

d) 3 or 4 tracks there was a bit of cymbals clipping. Okay, not sounding terrible, but they may hurt said tunes at least to an extent.

That all being said, right now, my biggest concern is not even how great this is, but MY CONFIRMATION EMAIL FOR THE JULY 22ND CONCERT IN MINNEAPOLIS still has yet to come in. I have no idea wtf I am doing wrong. But I just hope now that the Colors Spectrum is out and released, shipped, etc. Casey and Max or whoever else is involved with doing the Lifetime Membership rsvp confirmation emails gets around to reading and responding to at least 1 of the 3 I have sent in.

Now, with all that being said, hopefully in the coming days/weeks I can manage to write a more detailed, accurate review here. But this will have to do for now.

edit here's a new video of Casey just commenting a bit on the whole thing.



one thing that I meant to add earlier/mean to add when a more proper review comes as well. When I 1st heard about this project and especially late in 2009/early 2010 when Casey said somewhere about finally doing it in full, etc. The idea of instead of releasing it like this, all-at-once, releasing it, at least digitally, 1 ep at a time, every month or 2. Leading up to then the release of Act IV.

So, if they had done that, but still wrote and recorded as it was done, the 1st EP would have come out digitally, in March or April, and then over the next 18 months or whatever, the band would would write and record Act IV (within their down time from touring, and Casey's other work of course like The River Empires and producing Falling Up's new album).

Thus, each EP would be taken-in more thoroughly on-its-own, yet still as a fan, the down time between EPs would not be too long. And the time frame for Act IV would still be within a reasonable amount of time. Now Act IV very well may be released sometime in the Summer or Fall of 2012 anyway, but at least the whole hugeness and extensive work of putting this whole thing out, in some ways may find the band and Casey not really all that energized to do work on the next Act so fast.

Kind of reminds me of the Portnoy + Dream Theater story in 2010.

The Acts are still the meat and basis of TDH music, at least for now. And if somehow, even as great as this whole thing is and what it may/is doing for Casey as a songwriter, I just hope it doesn't delay or impact how and when the Acts get done. I mean think about Sufjan Stevens. Michigan, Illinois..all 50 States? yeah, we now know what happened.

Tokyo Jihen - Daihakken (2011)

story

Blech, the short about this group is, in my return to KFAI volunteering, a friend of mine who also volunteers occasionally on Tuesdays in the Music Library there, brought some of this Japanese group's music in not too long ago to listen to while organizing the library.

This friend of mine and I share some music taste, maybe the most being in Jazz and Jazz-Rock. But I wasn't aware he was into any of the "J" stuff (J-Rock, J-Pop, J-Punk, J-Metal, J-Jazz). But it doesn't entirely surprise me.

Tokyo Jihen (also known as "Toyko Incidents") are seemingly, very talented band of musicians who like many of the artists in Japan and other parts of Asia, are pretty well-known there, but not so much elsewhere.

They have a great female singer named Shina Ringo, and play a lot of progressive arrangements. How much I have yet to listen to them outside of those experiences at KFAI, is pretty much none at this point.

But this new upcoming album of theirs titled "Daihakken" (or I guess translates to "The Great Discovery"?) is being released on June 29th, and may get me to start checking them out more thoroughly. And this will be their 6th? full length studio album. The one I recall my friend recommended to me previously is titled Adult from 2006.

Maybe this group will join the likes of Kacica and Mutyumu as my favorite music coming from the great country of Japan. Sadly though, how available their music (like Mutyumu namely) is to purchase in physical format, all the way out here in the States, may be a challenge to say the least.



01. Where's Heaven For The Disc
02. Relative vs. Absolute
03. Brand New Civilization
04. City Without Electricity
05. Regardez Moi
06. Jeux Interdits
07. Dopa-Mint! BPM103
08. Les Adultes Terribles
09. Child Of The 21st Century Universe
10. Un Homme Et Une Femme
11. Reverberation
12. Go With The Wind
13. Fly Me To Heaven
b.t. Where's Heaven For The Tube


this video is possibly/apparently/maybe a demo of the new single with a guy on Youtube playing along to the guitar parts



Tokyo Jihen on facebook
Tokyo Jihen homepage
Artist page on toshiba-emi.co.jp

Yes - Fly From Here (2011) (1.0)

6/13/11 3:50PM
Single "We Can Fly"



not bad, but since it's 4 minutes and the whole song/suite is like 24 minutes, it's hard to tell how good this will be. I will say, Benoit David doesn't sound bad, almost like a slightly lower version of Trevor Horn.

6/3/11 12:08PM



2:54 Sample of "Fly From Here." I haven't heard it since I'm at work. L8ter.


5/24/11 1:21AM

Yesfans.com topic
Wikipedia page
Japanese Listing June 22nd Release (although July 12th is the Frontiers Records release Date)



1. Fly from Here - Overture
2. Fly from Here - Pt I - We Can Fly
3. Fly from Here - Pt II - Sad Night at the Airfield
4. Fly from Here - Pt III - Madman at the Screens
5. Fly from Here - Pt IV - Bumpy Ride
6. Fly from Here - Pt V - We Can Fly (reprise)
7. The Man You Always Wanted Me to Be
8. Life on a Film Set
9. Hour of Need
10. Solitaire
11. Into the Storm

3/15/11 3:19AM



This is the title of apparently their upcoming full-length, that is projected to be released in July.

"“At the moment, we just finished recording our first studio album since 2001,” Chris Squire said during a phone interview last week.


[...] [Which] would be called “Fly From Here.”


“It’s the title of the main song,” he said.


Squire also confirmed [...] Trevor Horn produced the album. The players, Squire continued, would be the same one attendees will see on stage when the band performs Friday [...]:


Guitarist Steve Howe, drummer Alan White, keyboardist Oliver Wakeman, lead singer Benoit David and Squire.


Except for one change.


At Horn’s insistence, “Fly from Here” will feature [...] Geoffrey Downes on keyboards, as opposed to Wakeman, Squire said.


“We have no exact date and the album is not even mastered yet,” Yes’ publicist responded via e-mail. “So unfortunately we have no information yet but was told it would be out sometime in July.”




Guitarist Steve Howe, drummer Alan White, keyboardist Oliver Wakeman, lead singer Benoit David and Squire."


"At Horn’s insistence, “Fly from Here” will feature [...] Geoffrey Downes on keyboards, as opposed to Wakeman, Squire said."

Chris Squire, Steve Howe, Alan White, Benoit David along with Oliver Wakeman and Geoff Downes as a guest. Trevor Horn produced it.

I'm going with this Wikipedia link, honestly, because a lot of the press and forum posts are frankly, too unclear and too long to weed through.

The "sequel to Drama" part of this has me curious, since Drama is my 2nd favorite Yes album, and with Downes and Trevor Horn involved, this may be the closest thing the band ever makes to that record.

Benoit David, the jury is out on, despite how well he can sing the Yes catalog live. If Trevor Horn actually does some singing on this album, I will be happy. The song "We Can Fly From Here" I guess is a song from the Drama-period that never was finished, nor was it included on the Drama remaster. But you can check it out here:



I guess it was included on the In A Word boxed set, one that I'm sure most Yes-aholics like a friend of mine, are very familiar with. But being a huge fan of Drama, it is rather cool to hear for the 1st time, despite the obviously lower production quality.

The fact they are re-recording it, and it's going to be an epic, of maybe 11 minutes? I can't deny my curiosity is raised.

Yes are a band who I love a good chunk of their studio work, but most of that, not being post-Drama.. The Ladder, some of the ABWH, and Keys 2 Ascension music ("Mind Drive" namely).

Their last album, 2001's Magnification while wasn't bad, I never got too into. Although it was better than most of their 80's and 90's albums I guess.

But without Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman, I must admit, I was kind of skeptical about how good this might be. Even with my love of Drama. But now reading some things, and the inclusion of Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes, I must admit, I'm a little more optimistic here.

But I must add, all the *drama* with Yes and their lineup changes, along with even just trying to find some simple, concrete information with this, is frankly, a huge pain in the ass. C'mon guys! it shouldn't be this hard to find specific details about the band and this album.. All the fans on Yesfans.com along with progressiveears.com and some other places keep bickering and speculating things. Trevor Rabin is back? how many songs Downes may play on. Benoit David's role. Blah Blah Blah.

Throw me a fricking bone here I can report! lol. In most cases, it's not all that hard to find this stuff. But in Yes's case, there's way too many reports and opinions that conflict. Why do they always have to be the band with the Soap Opera and fans who all claim to know everything? lol.

I just roll-my-eyes from afar, and wait for the music, rather than get as bent out of shape as so many of their fans seem to do. Thank god.

William Shatner to Guest Star on PSYCH!

story

I will save anyone from reading the story, since it says Psych returns next Fall which is false. Shatner's episode may air in the Fall, but the show returns for its 6th Season in July.

But more importantly, this is or could be a HUGE deal for Psych. And to me, being the Shatner-nerd and Psych-nerd (I make a little podcast called Psychic Crapfest by the way), these 2 iconic universes are colliding in the best (or worst) possible way.

The Shat was frankly, MADE for a show like Psych.

As far as the details, he's going to play Juliet's father, which honestly could be comedic gold. We'll see. A few potential lines:

Shat/Mr.O'Hara: "Julie (he calls her Julie, and not Jules or Juliet), how could you be involved with this guy who claims he's a Police Psychic, but isn't actually officially an officer of the Law?" "Didn't Ihhh instill in-yewwwww better judge-MEANT???"

Shawn: "Sir, I can assure you, I give her things no member of the Police Department can. Afterall, I learned much more than any of them about providing safety, growing up watching TJ Hooker"

Shat/Mr.O'Hara: "TJ what?...Son, I thought you were going to tell me you learned everything you know from watching Star Wars 27 times"

hehe...GOLD I tell ya. Potential, Comedic Gold.

And could it lead to a James Roday appearance on Raw Nerve? perhaps.


edit:Apparently the show is coming back in the Fall, not July?

Psych homepage
PSYCH RETURNS FALL 2011

The world as Lassiter knew it just came to an end. What will he do now that he knows about Shawn & Juliet's relationship? Find out when new episodes of Psych return this fall!

I swear I read something about it's return in July, but o well. I'd like to see some kind of statement or explanation why, but my best guess is to allow some of the other USA Network Shows to be featured over the Summer, and have IT be featured in the Fall (and Winter).

It appears there is another new show this Summer on USA Network called "Necessary Roughness"


a show about a therapist who works for a Football team. The black actor whose on the team apparently I recognize Mehcad Brooks aka "Eggs" from True Blood.

Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Fairly Legal and of course White Collar, In Plain Sight and Covert Affairs already have returned for the Summer of 2011.

Weird, I hope this is a GOOD thing for Psych, but it also sort of feels like Psych is being singled out in a way. We'll see.

edit 2:
this story from as far back as April 12th, LOL.

USA Network's vice-president of program research Ted Linhart announced the news on his Twitter page.

Linhart explained that the show, which normally premieres in the summer, has been delayed to make way for new series Necessary Roughness and Suits, which was formerly known as A Legal Mind.

"We know fans [are] not happy," he wrote. "When we look at macro view something had to move & ironically Psych's strength last fall made it work."

He added: "We hope new shows are worth it - lifeblood of TV network is new shows."

uh,

1) Maybe I don't go to the Psych website or forum every day or week, but this should have been posted on some of the other forums I'm on. Or for that matter, what about ON YOUR NETWORK BUDDY?

2) why? Why couldn't one of the other shows be pushed back until the Fall? Oh, because Psych did well last fall, lol. Compared to what? How about this: you get your big brothers over at NBC to start airing Psych instead, lol.

I will say now just thinking about this, this REEKS of the COMCRAP buyout that my co-host on the PsychicCrapfest mentioned months ago.

Here's a potential scenario and quotes:

"Hi, I'm from Comcast. With the new Comcast/NBC agreement, we're deciding to make some changes around here at the USA Network. We like what you guys have been doing at USA, so much, we want to add not 1 but 2 more new shows, and try and make more with some up-coming people (less payroll, more profit). So, I think the best thing is to take the show we know has the best following and established viewership and move it back for awhile so we can squeeze in more new programs (product).

We'll see, new shows are how this Network is working we think. Psych seems like the show to push back a bit given its history. The break might be good for the fans, as they'll miss it more. And they can then get into those new shows that hopefully will follow suit like the other shows on this network.

This idea is something we've noticed NBC itself does often, with success at times. Some of the shows that don't make it are a necessary casualty, but we think with a great Cable Network like USA, those ratings demands and returned viewership won't lead to something like that. And even if so, our newer, more affordable shows will more than makeup for any lower ratings and profit that has been seen and expected in the past from Psych."

so yeah. If this somehow backfires, uh, this Comcast agreement I heard about a few months ago will be the obvious 1st culprit for ruining my favorite show on TV.

dredg - Alternate video for "I Don't Know"

Dredg, 'I Don't Know' from Graham Futerfas on Vimeo.

I just noticed someone pass this along over on Traversing. From memory, the originally released/posted video for this song wasn't all that memorable. The city footage kind of fits better with this song in some ways (if you know what it's about especially).

Dead Pool - Shadows [EP] (2011)

http://deadpool.bandcamp.com
So, this band/project of Ryan Stannage of the space rock band Strange Maps sent me close-circuit post on his twitter just earlier tonight.

Strange Maps anyway, a band i stumbled upon a few months ago and liked, but for various reasons, haven't listened to a ton since. But among the new artists I've found in 2011, they are among the better ones.

So this project "Dead Pool" of his I didn't realize existed. But isn't exactly like Strange Maps. Just sampling and now downloading totally free this EP of theirs Shadows, is definitely less spacey than Strange Maps, but it still has some spacey or pitch-bending and distortion-pedal-happy guitar textures at times.

But, as I just got wind of I have to step out, and I'm a bit frustrated by writing things and then being interrupted and not posting them when I mean to. I'm going to try and add more to this later (which I'll admit, I don't do even 1/4 of the times I meant to or say I will try to).

But the short about this ep is, some of the style and vocals might seem a little bland or generic at 1st, but these songs seem to surprise me and probably could others. And for an EP, it's a good sign. Reminds a little bit of how I felt about 100 Ft Snowman right away. And I grew to love them. 2 of the songs "Redivine" and "Absent Presence" got my head turning a bit. The ending of the latter namely.

I'm gonna burn this ep for work next week and if I somehow manage to, elaborate more about it in here. But in the mean time, some other people probably would dig this music, which is totally free to download. Sort of blending bands like Tool and Pink Floyd among some others (Oceansize?..yeah I know).

And it's another Australian group who impresses me. Meniscus, Tangled Thoughts of Leaving, Karnivool, Dead Letter Circus...Dead Pool may be in that coming soon.

The Dear Hunter - The Color Spectrum Boxed Set Video

6/10/11 8:21PM

the dear hunter pure volume page

9 songs from The Color Spectrum, not from the Sampler are there to stream for a limited time. And dare I say, I think nearly every one of them might be as good if not better than the songs on the sampler, lol.

Holee Fuck, this boxed set may even exceed my expectations. Plenty of tunes I can't wait to digest starting next week. "Echo" "The Collapse of the Great Tide Cliffs" "Misplaced Devotion" "Progress" 'This Body" and "Crow and Cackle" to name the ones I recall at the moment.

Now, if only I'd just receive my confirmation email for the July 22nd show at the Triple Rock, I can be a fully content The Dear Hunter fan this weekend ;).

6/8/11


1 week away. My name will be in there, hehe.

Related: The Dear Hunter - The Color Spectrum EPs (2011) (1.0)

dredg - Upon Returning Official Video

odd video, and for example, nothing like the straight forward Fair to Midland video that was just made. The colored drinks somehow are like a drug or something perhaps? a Psychedelic drug, lol.

The song itself I like, although many accounts of people who didn't care for it, have mentioned how much better it is live. I wouldn't disagree, but the album version of this song I still like.

Fair to Midland - Musical Chairs (Official Video)

not a ton to say really, other than the smashed/smashing of the keyboard/piano. I haven't heard it with the music yet though. Plus within the album I suppose. But otherwise, it looks like just a straight up, rocking-out video. Which actually, the video(s) the band have done, they've never had before, which is nice in some ways. Just not too arty I suppose.

Brice Plays Drums - I Laugh at Your Greener Pastures I-IV (2011)

Great, intricate record that is 4 tracks, and one epic 30 minute suite of sorts.

Great organ. This record has these little memorable sections that often seem well worth the buildup to. 30 minutes long, but I would say it hardly feels that long at times.

They also played at the "Progasm" a few weeks back at the 400 Bar and played this whole thing live. I guess they spent the better part of 2+ years writing the whole thing.

Cavil at Rest and Kaddisfly come to mind, also names like Call Florence Pow, Santana and The Mars Volta (mainly the keys/organ arrangements).

The production isn't huge or anything, perhaps even low-fi, but I think it suits the music well for that reason. Less being more in terms of production.

Definitely a grower as well, as it's an album that new things are heard each time, and those things are often things to like.

Lyrically, things about humankind, evolution, space time, existence, etc are explored in a vague, almost naive way (naive being interesting in a sense, not ignorant or negative).

I'll add/edit more of this soon; hopefully later today. But I shouldn't forget just how these guys are another Minnesota band doing prog, and in some ways doing-it-in-their-own-way. Which supports how good a music scene we have here in Minneapolis/St.Paul. Even if Porcupine Tree and Between the Buried and Me don't come here often anymore, there's a ton of great in-state bands to satisfy me and many other open-minded/forward-thinking music fans.

I also should add, they possibly have another record in the works, even coming later in the year if the finances and time allow. This is sort of a Mini-album, and the 2 shows I've now seen them, they have played some other songs they are looking to record.

But for now, this is definitely one of the best local releases of 2011, and better albums in general.




Brice Plays Drums on Facebook

Fright Night (2011)

6/9/11 12:07AM

new trailer with a little more of Tennant. But frankly, NOT ENOUGH. He also looks very different from the Roddy McDowall Peter Vincent. For one thing, HIS AGE, lol. O well, I'm still curious about this, even if it gets panned.





5/22/11 5:26PM


This is just a trailer I noticed posted on imdb, youtube, etc. This remake stars Colin Farrell along with Toni Collette, Anton Yelchin (Chekov from the Star Trek reboot), Christopher Mintz-Plasse (McLovin), and of course David Tennant (Doctor Who). The thing about this trailer, while it does look like it has potential even with the obvious differences from the original. As far as this trailer:

WHERE IS DAVID TENNANT???

I mean the 1st thing that was said about this remake was Tennant was starring. Can you say W-T-F?

Hopefully more, better trailers including the good Doctor will come soon, as the release date is August 19th, which actually is the same day Conan the Barbarian latest remake, along with Spy Kids 4 also hit theaters.

Progressive Rock Film

prog | film from David Robin on Vimeo.

I just noticed this posted on progressiveers.com the other day. The film maker I guess compiled the interviews and things for it from around 2000-2002. Then tried to shop it around but got no takers to release it or air it in any fashion. I kind of feel bad for him as it seems he put a lot of time and money into it, and it came out pretty good.

Although, it is rather deep in terms of names and progressive rock artists covered, but they are more or less "prog" rather than groups experimenting. In other words, many of the names are names the underground progressive communities know, and only do know (and likely only will be the ones who will). Or, many of them are what I like to call "profile" Prog Festival bands.

But that being said, it's interesting seeing it and some of the music industry comments from Rick Wakeman and Steve Hackett among others, some 8 years ago.

Personally, not only a Kevin Gilbert documentary would be a desire of mine to make, but perhaps even just something like this, but covering a lot of music over the last 20 or so years. I.e., a lot of the stuff in this blog. Maybe I'll include that as a 2nd goal/dream/desire before I die to have made. Even sans some of the numbers and significant interviews.

Between Two Skies - "At Home With Strange" (demo)

Hey all you great friends of ours!
We'd love if you took a sec to go vote for us to play the Mpls stop on this summer's Warped Tour. We won it two years ago and by golly we want to do it up again!!! So go ahead....help us out eh??

stream the demo on this battle of the bands for a spot on the Warped Tour stop in MN link.

That demo sounds amazing. It's been more or less 5 years for these guys to make their 1st full-length, but just based on that demo and their lives shows, it should be well worth the wait. That is, assuming it does (and another record or two since they have enough material for more than 1 record now) come out.

Opeth: Sept/October 2011 North American Tour (Minneapolis 10/7)

The dates so far confirmed with Katatonia.

Sep. 19 - The Palladium @ Worcester, MA
Sep. 20 - Webster Theater @ Hartford, CT
Sep. 21 - Webster Hall @ New York, NY
Sep. 22 - Webster Hall @ New York, NY
Sep. 23 - Trocadero @ Philadelphia, PA
Sep. 26 - Newport Music Hall @ Columbus, OH
Sep. 27 - Expo Five @ Louisville, KY
Sep. 28 - Cannery Ballroom @ Nashville, TN
Sep. 29 - Amos’ Southend @ Charlotte, NC
Sep. 30 - Center Stage @ Atlanta, GA
Oct. 01 - House of Blues @ Lake Buena Vista, FL
Oct. 03 - Warehouse Live @ Houston, TX
Oct. 04 - – Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater @ Austin, TX
Oct. 05 - Granada Theater @ Dallas, TX
Oct. 06 - The Beaumont Club @ Kansas City, MO
Oct. 07 - First Avenue @ Minneapolis, MN
Oct. 08 - Burton Cummings @ Winnipeg, MB
Oct. 10 - Edmonton Events Centre @ Edmonton, AB
Oct. 11 - MacEwan Hall Ballroom @ Calgary, AB
Oct. 13 - Commodore Ballroom @ Vancouver, BC
Oct. 14 - Knitting Factory Concert House @ Spokane, WA
Oct. 15 - Showbox SoDo @ Seattle, WA
Oct. 16 - Roseland Theatre @ Portland, OR
Oct. 18 - The Warfield @ San Francisco, CA
Oct. 19 - Mayan Theatre @ Los Angeles, CA
Oct. 20 - House of Blues @ San Diego, CA
Oct. 21 - The Fox Theater @ Pomona, CA
Oct. 22 - Marquee Theatre @ Tempe, AZ
Oct. 24 - The Complex @ Salt Lake City, UT
Oct. 25 - Ogden Theatre @ Denver, CO
Oct. 27 - The Rave @ Milwaukee, WI
Oct. 28 - Vic Theatre @ Chicago, IL
Oct. 29 - St. Andrews Hall @ Detroit, MI
Oct. 30 - Guelph Concert Theatre @ Guelph, ON
Oct. 31 - Mr Smalls Theatre @ Millvale, PA
Nov. 01 - Rams Head Live! – Baltimore, MD

I will very likely go to this. Katatonia? not really a fan to be honest, and I watched them last year with Orphaned Land. I hope Opeth is headlining and not opening. I gotta believe they are, since frankly, they are or should be a fair amount bigger than Katatonia.

But I can't help but also add a comment about Opeth along with Dream Theater, again coming back to Minneapolis (even if it's at 1st Crapenue, lol). And Porcupine Tree again failing to return to a town which they played twice in, in 2003 and 2005, to SOLD OUT crowds.

I know it's a promoter thing, but these promoters must have their heads (and memories) stuck up their ass's if they continue to book Dream Theater and now Opeth again, and not Porcupine Tree.

The audience is more or less the same god damn crowd. But I suspect they have no fucking clue of that fact.

As far as this show, October 7th, a Friday Night late in the Baseball season. Wonderful, lol. I only wonder a bit about my travel plans as a family reunion in California may be close to that time, although I thought it may have been more likely in September sometime. I have missed 2 Opeth shows in the last 5 years for family events in CA. It would be ironic if I ended up missing this one again. Hopefully not.

Pat Metheny - What's It All About (2011)

1 The Sound of Silence 6:33
2 Cherish 5:25
3 Alfie 7:41
4 Pipeline 3:23
5 Garota de Ipanema 5:07
6 Rainy Days and Mondays 7:10
7 That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be 5:57
8 Slow Hot Wind 4:23
9 Betcha by Golly, Wow 5:12
10 And I Love Her 4:22

This is covers/popular songs interpreted by Pat Metheny. The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, etc. I'm curious but not incredibly intrigued. Although Metheny doing this kind of album might be a bit different than say Antoine Dufour.

article/interview

Sculptured: new music coming soon?

"progressive death metal feat: Agalloch members Don Anderson, Jason Walton (JWW), as well as Andy Winter (Winds, Age of Silence), and Dave Murray (Estradasphere, Deserts of Truan, Tholus). currently demoing new material..."

Oh man, I would be extremely happy to hear something new from Sculptured. I revisited Emboidiment a few months ago and remember why I enjoyed it as much as I did.

They do prog metal like it is supposed to be done.

Coldplay - TBA (2011)

1st single released today "Every Teardrop is a Waterfall" is now streaming at http://coldplay.com.

this is supposed to be a concept album of sorts as I recall reading at least 1 story. My take on these guys, they are good, but only amazing on a few songs (namely "Clocks"). But I don't think they deserve the shit they receive necessarily. Are they U2? no. But are they as annoying as Radiohead? hardly. If all the attention Radiohead gets were transferred over to them, thus making Radiohead still obscure, the music world would be better.

That being said, I will listen, not expect much, but hope it'll surprise me. This new song is being received well from some comments, but I won't know what I think about it until later of course when I get home from work.

The Dear Hunter - July/August 2011 American Headling Tour (inc. MN!)

7/15/11
Bottom Of The Hill
1233 17th St.
San Francisco, CA 94107
Doors: 8:00pm
Show: 9:00pm

7/16/11
Hawthorne Theater
1507 SE 39th St.
Portland, OR 97214
Doors: 7:00pm
Show: 8:00pm

7/17/11
El Corazon
109 Eastlake Ave. East
Seattle, WA 98101
Doors: 7:00pm
Show: 7:30pm

7/19/11
Kilby Court
741 Kilby Court
Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Doors: 6:30pm
Show: 7:00pm

7/20/11
The Summit Music Hall—Front Room
1902 Blake St.
Denver, CO 80202
Doors: 8:00pm
Show: 8:30pm

7/21/11
The Waiting Room
6212 Maple St.
Omaha, NE 68104
Doors: 7:00pm
Show: 8:00pm

7/22/11
Triple Rock Social Club
629 Cedar Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55404
Doors: 5:00pm
Show: 5:30pm

7/23/11
The House Café
263 East Lincoln Highway
Dekalb, IL 60115
Doors: 7:00pm
Show: 7:30pm

7/24/11
Lincoln Hall
2424 N. Lincoln Ave.
Chicago, IL 60614
Doors: 5:00pm
Show: 6:00pm

7/26/11
The Firebird
2706 Olive St.
St. Louis, MO 63103
Doors: 7:00pm
Show: 7:30pm

7/27/11
Mad Hatter Club
620 Scott St.
Covington, KY 41011
Doors/Show: 7:30pm

7/28/11
The Pyramid Scheme
68 Commerce SW
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Doors: 6:30pm
Show: 7:00pm

7/29/11
Grog Shop
2785 Euclid Heights Blvd.
Cleveland Heights, OH 44106-2812
Doors: 7:00pm
Show: 7:30pm

7/30/11
Mr Small’s Theatre
400 Lincoln Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15209
Doors: 7:00pm
Show: 7:30pm

8/09/11
Rocko’s
253 Wilson St.
Manchester, NH 03103
Doors: 7:00pm
Show: 7:30pm

8/10/11
Middle East Restaurant & Night Club
480 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02139
Doors: 7:00pm
Show: 7:30pm

8/11/11
The Space
295 Treadwell St.
Hamden, CT 06514
Doors: 7:00pm
Show: 7:30pm

8/12/11
Knitting Factory
361 Metropolitan Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11211
Doors: 7:00pm
Show: 7:30pm

8/13/11
North Star Bar
2639 West Poplar St.
Philadelphia, PA 19130
Doors: 7:00pm
Show: 7:30pm

8/14/11
Jammin Java Music Club & Café
227 Maple Ave. East
Vienna, VA 22180
Doors: 7:00pm
Show: 7:30pm

8/16/11
The Drunken Unicorn
736 Ponce Deleon Place
Atlanta, GA 30030
Doors: 7:00pm
Show: 7:30pm

8/17/11
The Pit
14003 Bleach Blvd.
Jacksonville, FL 32225
Doors: 6:30pm
Show: 7:00pm

8/18/11
The Orpheum
1902 Republica De Cuba
Tampa, FL 33605
Doors: 7:00pm
Show: 8:00pm

8/19/11
Propaganda
6 South J St.
Lake Worth, FL 33460
Doors: 7:00pm
Show: 7:30pm

8/20/11
The Social
54 North Orange Ave.
Orlando, FL 32801
Doors: TBA
Show: TBA

8/22/11
Warehouse Live Studio
813 Saint Emanuel St.
Houston, TX 77003
Doors: TBA
Show: TBA

8/23/11
The Loft
1135 South Lamar
Dallas, TX 75215
Doors: 7:30pm
Show: 8:30pm

8/24/11
Emo’s Alternative Lounge—Inside
603 Red River
Austin, TX 78701
Doors: 9:00pm
Show: 10:00pm

8/26/11
Sail Inn
26 S Farmer Ave.
Tempe, AZ 58281
Doors: 7:00pm
Show: 7:30pm

8/27/11
The Glass House
200 W. Second Ave.
Pomona, CA 91766
Doors: 7:00pm
Show: 7:30pm

We finally got a DATE! on Friday July 22nd at The Triplerock. Can You Say RSVP?

Cool freaking beans!

more to add as there was more in the latest newsletter I don't have time to post at the moment.

Total Babe - TBA (2011)

Their post on facebook "BRAND NEW TOTAL BABE TRACK OFF OUR FORTHCOMING RECORD FEATURED EXCLUSIVELY ON MFR!"

Nice new tune there, although it is in-effect an *unfinished* mix apparently of their new song "Just Because We’re Breathing". Or at least the final version may not be mixed as it is there. But so be it, great to hear something new from these kids who released a refreshing debut ep Heat Wave in 2009, I really enjoy/ed; doing sort of a mix of experimental folk/pop. Less-is-more. And this song has the qualities of the tunes off that EP. There's more to hear than you'd think or hear the 1st or 2nd time. Mainly in terms of layering.

Not a lot else to add, other than I have optimism for this record, and hopefully it'll be released sometime before the end of 2011.

Falling Up - Your Sparkling Death Cometh (2011) (1.0)

6/1/11 8:41AM

Diamnds is here to stream. For me of course, in about 9 hours or so when I get home from work.


5/25/11 6:55PM - 5/30/11 9:58PM

Blue Ghost is here. Holy shit this sounds sweet. Gimme the rest, nao damnit!

5/14/11 10:07PM

Cover Art + Track List PRE-ORDER Link



1. Circadian
2. The Wonder
3. Blue Ghost
4. Diamnds
5. The Light Beam Rider
6. Oceans
7. Mscron
8. Vates
9. Forms And Shapes
10. Slow Waves

Official Release Date is June 28th, 2011.

kind of odd spellings "Mscron" and "Diamnds" but I imagine it's for a reason. That reminds of me of something Menomena has done.

4/3/11 7:02PM
So the title of the album is "Your Sparkling Death Cometh" and is expected in June (June 28th according to Wikipedia and possibly other places I haven't seen yet).

As Jessy wrote in their latest update, like on 2009's Fangs!, Casey Crescenzo will be producing it and help with tracking along with using his studio.

Details and some video footage shouldn't be too far away it sounds like.

1/27/11 6:24PM
new site with updates



oh, man. $13,665. I just read that Casey actually produced Fangs, which really does not surprise me at all. And this upcoming record is being recorded at his studio as they say there. I'm almost feeling as excited about it as the next TRE record, lol.

1/6/11 10:40PM


280 Backers
$10,848 pledged of $10,000 goal
13 days to go

I am a BACKER, and as those numbers indicate, this campaign has become a success.

Falling Up of course is the original band Jessy Ribordy and Josh Shroy were/are part of, of course before The River Empires started. I actually can claim to own a couple of their discs already, 2004's Crashings and 2005's Dawn Escapes by finding them for a few dollars at Cheapo in the last few months.

The irony is, I haven't really spent much time with them, mainly because of my interest (phobia) in heavily Christian-based rock. However, in my exploration of Jessy's background, I did inquire about Falling Up and the album Fangs was recommended and I definitely have enjoyed it the more I've played it. It's rather textured, and among other bands, they do remind me of Minus the Bear and The Receiving End of Sirens to a point.



I'm not sure if Falling Up ever was on a tour with either, especially TREOS, which may suggest how Jessy and Casey Crescenzo got to know each other.

But I guess the biggest thing with Falling Up, as you watch that video and listen to Jessy, I am rather intrigued what they could do next. Fangs is a good record, and less overtly Christian, that I can tell. And maybe the most optimism I have about this is the experience Jessy's had writing the music of The River Empires and The Gloomcatcher, might impact how good production-wise and songwriting-wise this record ends up.

Plus I really want to just support him and what he does. My contribution was not huge, but it's remarkable how many people have contributed there, and how much $ they raised. That is a big reason why I wonder why The River Empires campaign didn't quite work out, nor the numbers of fans at this point. Falling Up have a good size following already (over 100,000 listeners on last.fm). You'd think a reasonable percentage of those people would like and support Jessy's other work. But maybe it's just a matter of time. If this Falling Up record ends up reigniting their fans intests, many of them are bound to stumble upon TRE music, especially given they also have a record coming next year.

It should be interesting to see, and I am pretty excited to hear what this record will sound like. I even just found a hardcopy of Fangs on ebay just a bit ago.