Make Me Dance Tonight

How I Became Invisible - the third Robots and Racecars sideproject - finally added two original songs on the myspace and I need to link them to the world right this minute. It's sweet indie rock with densely layered lyrics - like Dashboard with a lot less melancholy - and the production is deftly handled.

I'm not saying that these songs are better than the other R&R sideprojects... but maybe I just did.

No, really!

( Read more... )

For twenty minutes Tuesday night, Angels and Kings - aka Pete Wentz's NYC bar - was a church basement. Team Goldie played a short set in the middle of Trainwreck Tuesday - Rob Hitt's (former drummer of Midtown) contribution to AK's entertainment schedule. Rather than a crowd of secretly drunk 16 year olds, this time Goldie shook what his momma gave him for a crowd of openly drinking 25 year olds.

(Can I just say that it is very strange to be the only people singing alone while someone like Rob Hitt watches approvingly from the DJ booth? It was weird. That bar is very tiny and Goldie came to dance with us a lot.)


While appreciative, the crowd was largely baffled by the performance, which was kind of expected. However, there was one number that night that got the whole bar singing at the top of their lungs: A-Ha's classic, "Take on Me." Thanks to Rob Hitt for playing all the songs I hadn't heard in eight years, but still somehow knew all the words. He is an excellent bat-mitzvahs DJ circa 1994 (for the record, that's not a knock. Mr. Hitt spins a superb set. I've also had the pleasure of hearing him mix at the Cobra Starship Highline Ballroom show in January. He knows the songs that work the crowd). All in all, a great night.

Guys, let's talk about how much I love Reggie and the Full Effect. James Dewees may have current possession of my soul. Reggie's going out on his final tour - I wonder if that's Michael Jordan final or actually final - with Frank Iero's Leathermouth as an opener and I've already bought tickets to two shows.

(The dates:

Aug 20: Orlando, FL @ The Social
Aug 22: Houston, TX @ Warehouse Studio
Aug 23: Austin, TX @ Emo's
Aug 25: Tempe, AZ @ Clubhouse
Aug 26: Hollywood, CA @ Avalon
Aug 27: San Luis Obispo, CA @ SLO Brew
Aug 28: San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
Aug 29: Sparks, NV @ New Oasis
Aug 30: Salt Lake City, UT @ Avalon Theater
Aug 31: Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater
Sep 2: Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock
Sep 3: Chicago, IL @ House of Blues – Chicago
Sep 4: Detroit, MI @ The Magic Stick
Sep 5: Pittsburgh, PA @ Diesel
Sep 6: Buffalo, NY @ Club Infinity
Sep 7: New York, NY @ Highline Ballroom
Sep 9: Cambridge, MA @ The Middle East Club
Sep 10: Farmingdale, NY @ Crazy Donkey
Sep 11: Towson, MD @ Recher Theatre
Sep 12: Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom
Sep 13: Lancaster, PA @ Chameleon Club
Sep 14: Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore at the TLA

You can score presale tickets HERE)

I'll be at the Lancaster and Philadelphia shows, and maybe the Sayreville date as well, even though I don't really like the Starland. I can't resist Reggie.

He also shot a video for "J Train," definitely my favorite song off the new album Last Stop: Crappy Town - my review of the album is here - and ( check out these amazing pictures from the shoot. )

This evening's plans include awesome drink specials and Team Goldie. Be there - if you are of age, obviously - or be square.

So, let's say a band you like has some fugly merch - but not fugly enough to come back around to awesome, just really kind of fucking ugly - or maybe it's just not something you would wear, but you still want to support them. Bands make the most of their money from merch sales.

What to do?

( Make a pillow! )

Last Stop: Crappy Town, the latest album from Reggie and the Full Effect - a.k.a. James Dewees, My Chemical Romance's touring keyboard player - is more than a departure from Reggie's usual tone. There's less identity hopping and the sounds of Fluxuation, Common Denominator and Reggie - RATFE's usual "collaborations" and some of Dewees' alter egos - have all blended together into something that is both equally intriguing and harsh.

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So I went with two of my friends to Get Heard Fest '08 at the Marlboro Rec Center in Marlboro, NJ on Saturday. It was brutally humid and gross out, but the rec center was nice and cool inside. Not so cool was the No Re-Entry rule for a 10-hour festival, or the lack of food - hot dogs, water, chips and candy bars is not enough of a "concession stand" to last all day. We weren't planning on staying for the whole time anyway, but that didn't make us want to stay any longer than necessary. There were three bands we really wanted to see and they were all playing right in a row, which gave us time to head over to Tijuana Flats in Bensalem for a free Robots and Racecars acoustic show and some Mexican food. A++ day, would trek across New Jersey again.

The Scenic - I just saw these guys not that long ago, so I don't have that much new to say. They were tired after a long morning drive but still put on a strong set. We did find out who does their merch: Applicant Apparel. Really really sweet merch. Up next for The Scenic is a new album on July 22nd and a tour all up and down the east coast with Lannen Fall and Go Radio, so head out and see them if they come by you.

The Appreciation Post - Like The Scenic, I've blogged about these guys before, but it never hurts to see a band twice (or three or four or eleven times). They're just as fun as I remember, now with a new song or two. They just finished a tour with 2*Sweet and are booking an August tour with Vega Under Fire.

2*Sweet - I was really looking forward to finally seeing 2*Sweet's live set. They'd been eluding me for a while, booking shows either across the state or on nights where I already had tickets for other shows, but I listened to the album stream and hoped for a show close by. I wasn't let down. They're lively on the stage and Justin's stage presence is so different from most frontmen these days. It really suits their sound. Sleep Without Dreams is their new album - I picked up a copy myself at the show - and they're going on tour with This Time Next Year and Fireworks at the end of the month.

Robots and Racecars acoustic - Maybe you're wondering why I keep going back to see Robots and Racecars time and time again - sometimes I wonder too. But after this show, it's obvious. Their shows are always fun. I never laugh and smile more than during their sets. They want you to have fun and they do a great job of getting it done. Sometimes - or okay, most of the time - we are laughing at their expense, but they're good-natured dudes who just can't remember the lyrics to their own songs. Or Britney's for that matter. Yeah, they covered "Baby, One More Time."

And Bruce and Diana were there, which meant we got a taste of the Robots sideprojects, plus a bunch more covers, including the Misfits, Taking Back Sunday and Say Anything. "Wow, I Can Be Sexual Too" is an interesting singalong in a Mexican restaurant when there are innocent diners walking in the door.

( Pictures from Get Heard Fest )

What do you do when you're a a local band with some musically talented friends and a bunch of down time? Start some side projects of course!

Stay Sweet: They sound like "drunk unicorns" or maybe just two guys and an acoustic guitar. The lone song that's up, "Even Unicorns Say I'm Sorry," has some interesting dynamics and Frankie's voice especially is worth a listen. It definitely avoids sounding like something crappily recorded in a basement, which I appreciate.

Fully Operational: Listed as "blacker than the blackest black times infinity" is maybe a bit misleading. Their song, "The Crane Game" has a sweet and poppy indie vibe, this time with Diana's keys adding some depth to the sound. If I have any complaint it's that the song is just too short.

(And also Nicholas Reed Music, which only has a Sweet Avenue cover up right now, but it's a free download which is always worth a plug.)

If you want to see their regular bands, check out Robots and Racecars acoustic at Tiujana Flats 6PM on Saturday in Bensalem, PA, or North Farwell tonight at the CLC in Levittown, PA - and on a short tour next week - and Boy Girl Sleepover at Middletown Community Park in Langhorne, PA on the 21st.

Oh hell yes. I'm going to see The Love Cats (Pete Steinkop and Michael McDermot of Bouncing Souls, DJ Values of Let It Burn, Frank Iero of My Chemical Romance, Andrew Everding of Thursday and Matt Scara of Pitch Black Blonde) Saturday night.

It's going to be wild, and honestly I may be even more excited for Tragedy. HEAVY METAL BEE GEES COVERS WHAT.

Coldplay's new record is up for a totally legitimate listen over at iheartmusic.com.

Check it out and then come back and tell me what you think.

There's a Threadless shirt out there that lists a bunch of made up music genres and one I thought I would never find is "indie klezmer." Surely you can't get more indie and unknown than klezmer music? (For those who don't know, klezmer is traditional Jewish folk music.)

Well, right now I'm eating my words. Meet Panic Ensemble. An indie klezmer band.

Let me know if you find any emo bossa nova or gangsta lounge music out there.

From the ashes of the Chicago scene comes Empires and they aren't messing around. This is the debut record of a band who trusts in their own sound and that is so rare. I'll do a full review soon, but for the moment, download the album for free at their website.

I can't pick a genre to put these guys in, but if you like the Raconteurs, you'll love Howl.

ArtistData allows bands to sync their shows (and soon other types of info) across many websites at once, like Facebook, Myspace, Purevolume, imeem, and soon Buzznet and many more. Now you don't have to remember to log into fifteen different websites to update your band's info.

http://www.artistdata.com/

Oh, yes, my friends. It is what you have long waited for: A pair of sweatpants with "True Love Waits" across the ass.

( See for yourself. )

So there's this band Empires from Chicago. You may have heard of them because Tom Conrad - former The Academy Is... guitarist - is a member. If you were expecting something pop punk and derivative, or something to be snatched up by FBR and decked out in Glamour Kills, you were wrong.

( Read more... )

Glancing at the lyrics of Team Goldie's newest release, you'd think he was jaded with the rockstar life, singing about groupies and diamonds; how being a musician makes you a glorified stripper. But of course, that's not the case. Team Goldie isn't anywhere near a rockstar life, and while the songs have a cynical edge, there's a self awareness - the lyrics directly address it: it's criminal how cynical this boy has become - that keeps him from becoming arrogant or grating.

( Read more... )

( Pictures )

I should really just title this post: How I Spent My Memorial Day Weekend. Maybe if I could also stand in front of a blackboard and awkwardly read the post out loud for the entire class, but I can't, so it just doesn't feel authentic. Anyway, Friday: A few friends and I headed out to the illustrious Hamilton Lanes in Hamilton, NJ to see a bunch of bands, among them personal favorites Robots and Racecars, also The Scenic, Rookie of the Year and Rushmore.

There were a couple other bands as well, but they were either not very good - the problem with covering a good song during your set is that it just highlights how much your band can't write music - or incredibly annoying. There's trying to get people excited about watcing your band, especially if you have to play after a big act, and then there's running around the parking lot like a douchenozzle. The first is expected and can actually recruit new fans. The second will keep people outside during your set.

High points: The Scenic - they have a Buzznet! - play some pretty sweet pop rock and have just finished recording a full length that's due out at the end of July. The guys themselves were really personable and fun, which is always a plus. Come June they're headed out on tour with Lannen Fall (another great band) and you should check them out. Also, their merch is really awesome. Props to whoever designed it.

Rushmore closed out the show and I feel bad for everyone who left before they played because they missed out on the best set of the night. They have an infectious power pop/pop punk/whatever the hell this genre is now sound - though that's not reflected by what's on their myspace. Most of that is pretty old and their new songs hold up better - with stage presence to spare. I hope to hear a lot more from these guys in the future.

Sunday, on the other hand, was kind of ridiculous. The show was being held at the Aston Skate Palace - it's not a roller rink, it's a skate palace - and the bill was split between pop punk acts and hardcore bands. It's really disconcerting to pull up to a local show and see thirty brosefs barbequing in the parking lot around their pickup trucks and zebra-striped Jeep Wranglers. And inside was only more insane. The bros skanked like crazy for the hardcore bands (though not very successfully) and everything was sadly hilarious. There was one hardcore band who was halfway decent, but the sound was ass and I couldn't understand a word any of those guys said, so the band name escapes me for now.

Of the pop punk acts, the two worth mentioning are of course Boy Girl Sleepover and Team Goldie - who also has a Buzznet! Both bands have brand new EPs and I'll save my thoughts on them for a separate post. Racing Kites played as well and they aren't quite to my taste, but maybe you'll like them. Check 'em out.