Her debut album for Hear Music doesn’t arrive until in the spring of 2009, however now, futurists can get a taste of one of next year’s most dazzling artistic arrivals with the release of ‘The Boom EP’, a 3-song digital only EP from creatively fearless singer/songwriter, Anjulie.

Watch “The Heat” video:

Anjulie on amazon.com

Born to immigrant parents from Guyana and raised in Toronto, Anjulie is an intriguing, authentic new voice on the pop landscape, with the melodic gifts, vocal prowess and sophistication that announce her as a true original.

Obsessed with music as a child, Anjulie has been singing and writing songs since she was a teen, and the years she spent honing her craft are readily apparent on this special digital only 3-song EP and her forthcoming self-titled debut album for Hear Music.

Download “Boom” MP3

Co-written with her producer and collaborator Jon Levine (of Canadian R&B hit makers The Philosopher Kings), Anjulie sets intensely personal stories about her life, loves, obsessions, and heartbreaks to a glittering genre-blending mix of pop, hip-hop, rock, and world rhythms she heard as a child growing up.

‘The Boom EP’ features the slinky, dark Nancy Sinatra-esque 60’s vibe of “Boom”, (a current favorite of KCRW’s tastemaker Chris Douridas) the sweet pop sophistication of “Love Songs” and “Day Will Soon Come” on which her personal and musical confessions come to life.

For more music and information, go to:

Anjulie MySpace

KristeenYoung have just finished work on their forthcoming album ‘Music for Strippers, Hookers, and the Odd On-looker’ which features a duet with Fall Out Boy front man Patrick Vaughn Stump on the song “That’s What It Takes, Dear”.

Download “That’s What It Takes, Dear” MP3

The legendary Tony Visconti (Bowie, T. Rex) produced the album. The group will also embark on their first full US tour since touring with Morrissey and Ted Leo and the Pharmacists (dates below).

Front-woman Kristeen Young says of working with Patrick, “From the moment I first heard ‘Sugar, We’re Going Down’ I was a goner. Like all heart-stopping moments, I remember my surroundings clearly…Home Depot parking lot, in the band van, and I couldn’t wait to hear the song again and again. The voice (that leapt out of the speakers and wrapped itself around my entire circulatory system) not only possessed the obligatory radio-ring, but had depth, flexibility, and made all the melody choices that break your heart while simultaneously making you feel like you can conquer all. When I wrote the duet, I knew that Patrick Stump was the very capable man for the job at hand. The song is about the duality of the human spirit. It’s about a battle that a person has with one’s self when at the lowest of low times. Lucky me, not only did Patrick’s voice caress these oddly rhythmed melody lines better than how I imagined, Patrick, personally, seemed to embody the role. He embraced the song with focus and optimism, and was an actual lift of light to my often heavy (and…YES) depressed soul. I am so fortunate that Patrick loved my song so, and that he had no reservations about expressing it.”

KRISTEENYOUNG 2008 Tour Dates:

(Dates and information subject to change.)

11/20 New York, NY Piano’s
11/29 Columbus, OH The Distillery
11/30 Southgate, MI The Modern Exchange
12/1 Chicago, IL Red Line Tap
12/7 Austin, TX Emo’s
12/8 San Antonio, TX Rock Bottom
12/11 Los Angeles, CA Hotel Café
12/17 Kansas City, MO The Record Bar
12/26 St. Louis, MO The Way Out
12/27 Indianapolis, IN Radio Radio

KristeenYoung Official Website
MySpace

We are excited to tell you that Alice Russell’s sophomore studio album, ‘Pot Of Gold’ has been released digitally and is now set for physical release on January 6th, 2009 in the US on Six Degrees Records.

Alice has developed a burgeoning career as one of the hottest UK soul singers today. While comparisons have been made to other popular British vocalists like Joss Stone, Amy Winehouse, Duffy and Adele, one listen and look at Alice and you can immediately tell she’s in a class by herself.

Download “Got the Hunger?” MP3 from Alice Russell’s new CD, ‘Pot of Gold’.

She has recorded and performed in well respected company that includes Massive Attack, The Roots, Lonnie Liston Smith, Femi Kuti, De La Soul, Quantic, and The Quantic Soul Orchestra to name a few. And her recent collaboration with Ninja Tune’s Mr. Scruff on “Music Takes Me Up” is a standout track from his new album Ninja Tuna and was released to rave reviews.

Blessed with a lavishly soulful voice, Alice manages to sound both timeless and modern. Her live performances have the unique ability to captivate an audience and to hold their attention expertly tugging at the heartstrings. Alice has used her talent to great effect, gaining renown for her performances with the mighty Quantic Soul Orchestra and more recently her own band. She has also supported Lonnie Liston Smith, Femi Kuti and De La Soul.

As for her own material, Alice has been distilling her sound, laying live strings, horns and piano to compliment very intimate and uplifting shift in her style for her new album, ‘Pot Of Gold’.

Alice Russell is also a featured artist on this fall’s Hotel Café Tour alongside fellow artists Rachael Yamagata, Meiko, and Thao Nguyen.

Alice Russell 2008 Tour Dates:

(Dates and information subject to change.)

13 Nov The Hotel Cafe Los Angeles CA
14 Nov Hiro Ballroom New York NY
19 Nov Hi-Fi Club Leeds, UK Leeds
21 Nov Mint Lounge Manchester, UK manchester
22 Nov Voodoo Rooms Edinburgh, Scotland
25 Nov Komedia Brighton
26 Nov Scala London, UK london town gov!
27 Nov Trabendo Paris, France
28 Nov Petrol Antwerp, Belgium
30 Nov Paradiso Amsterdam, Holland
3 Dec The Junction Cambridge, UK
4 Dec Thekla Bristol, UK
10 Dec Brownes Nottingham, UK
12 Dec Dimmidisi Club Roma, Italy
13 Dec Musicbox Lisbon, Portugal

Alice Russell on amazon.com

Alice Russell on amazon.co.uk

For more music and information, go to:

Alice Russell Official Website
MySpace

Erran Baron Cohen (brother of Sacha Baron Cohen and composer of the original music for Borat and Da Ali G Show) is releasing a Hanukkah CD on November 18, 2008 called ‘Songs In The Key Of Hanukkah’ (New Line Records.) On the record, Baron Cohen updates, remixes and expands the music associated with Hanukkah.

Songs In The Key Of Hanukkah on amazon.co.uk

Songs In The Key Of Hanukkah on amazon.com

‘Songs In The Key Of Hanukkah’ is a collection of songs that brings the ancient music of Hanukkah into the 21st Century. The songs combine klezmer, reggae, electronica, hip hop, tango, pop and other genres, all fluently woven into something uniquely Baron Cohen’s.

The album contains five reinterpretations of classic favorites as well as five original tunes created exclusively for this project, all sung in English, Hebrew or Ladino (Judaeo-Spanish).

Download “Dreidel” MP3 - from ‘Songs In The Key Of Hanukkah’

The songs are performed by some world-class Jewish singers, including Israeli superstar Idan Raichel, world-music diva Yasmin Levy and New York City-based rapper Y-Love (who actually rhymes in Yiddish). The result is a record that is both meaningful and fun.

“Songs In The Key Of Hanukkah…is a musical voyage that bears repeated listening both for adults and kids who will love to hear the re-workings of the songs they already know as well as the new, original tracks,” says Baron Cohen. “Hanukkah has always been a kid-focused holiday so the challenge was how to transform the music so that it was cool and interesting for adults and yet something that the whole family could enjoy.”

Songs In The Key Of Hanukkah Tracklisting:

1. Hanukkah oh Hanukkah (feat. Jules Brookes and Y-Love)
2. Dreidel (feat. Jules Brookes)
3. Ocho Kandelikas (8 Candles) (feat. Yasmin Levy)
4. Spin it Up (feat. Jules Brookes)
5. Look to the Light (feat. Jules Brookes)
6. Rock Of Ages (feat. Jules Brookes)
7. Relics of Love and Light (feat. Idan Raichel and Avivit Caspi)
8. A La Luz De La Vela (In The Light of the Candle) (feat. Yasmin Levy)
9. My Hanukkah (Keep the Fire Alive) (feat. Y-Love and Dana Kerstein)
10. Ma’oz Tzur (feat. Dana Kerstein)

Songs In The Key Of Hanukkah Official Website

Recorded in every home he’s lived in over the past nine years, shifting from quarter inch tape reels into the digital age along the way, Melbourne singer-songwriter Gerard Daley has independently released his 12 track compilation album, ‘Diff’Rent States’.

Download “Where Love Is Found” MP3

Although Gerard spent much of his twenties playing in bands including The Stuntcar Drivers and Delta House, he always found time to record his own solo material. And while the tracks featured on ‘Diff’Rent States’ represent almost a decade of his song-writing, there’s still a consistent theme that surfaces across these recordings: the battle between reality and romance.

‘Diff’Rent States’ also includes the track “The Wrongness of Righteousness”; a song which is featured on Neil Young’s online ‘Songs of the Times’ chart, as well as “Butcher’s Blocks”; a track completed in 2007 after a few musician friends recorded each of their parts in their own home studios, and emailed the results across to Gerard.

‘Diff’Rent States’ is released online via iTunes, eMusic, Amazon MP3, Rhapsody and Napster. The online release contains 6 bonus acoustic tracks.

Listen to selected tracks:

Gerard Daley on Mp3.com.au

Tennessee born singer and songwriter Josiah Leming will release his eagerly anticipated debut album for Reprise Records in early 2009.

Josiah Leming MP3s on amazon.com

The 19-year-old newcomer, who made a splash with his powerfully expressive voice and passionate performance style, recorded the songs, all of which he wrote himself, during several weeks over the summer with producer/musician David Kosten (Bat For Lashes, Faultline).

To give listeners a sneak peek at the album, Leming is releasing Angels Undercover: Selections from Josiah Leming’s album debut. A five-song sampler of tracks from the album. The tracks - “Arctic Outcry Wind,” “Angels Undercover,” “Theysay,” “This Cigar,” and “To Run” - will be sold digitally via iTunes and all participating digital retailers, as well as on CD via www.myspace.com/josiahleming and at his upcoming shows.

Download “Arctic Outcry Wind” MP3

On November 12th, 2008, Josiah Leming hits the road for several low-key shows to give fans a preview of the debut. Many of those fans will recognize Leming from his appearance on Season 7 of American Idol.

His electrifying performances and moving story struck a chord with viewers who turned up in droves on Leming’s MySpace page to send messages of support and listen to the original songs he had posted. Since then, the page has racked up nearly 3.5 million views, while Leming’s songs have been listened to nearly three million times collectively.

Leming left his home in Morristown, TN, at age 17 to make it as a musician, hoping to find a way to help support the family he was leaving behind — eight siblings (six of whom are adopted), an out-of-work stepfather, and a mother with terminal cancer. Leming traveled around the Southeast playing open-mic nights in any club or coffeehouse that would have him, sleeping in his car and taking odd jobs to pay for food and gas, all the while dreaming about the album he would make one day. His appearance on American Idol landed him a manager who brought him to Warner Bros. Records who signed him in June 2008. For Leming, the dream of making an album has finally arrived.

“People need to know about Josiah Leming.” — Ellen DeGeneres

“A genuine talent… His voice is unique, his story compelling” — Buzz Sugar

“Leming is magnetic in person… disarming and electrifying. (His) music drips with a deep hurt but remains defiantly hopeful.” — LA Times

“Leming does not play piano so much as he assaults it. The music that explodes from the rickety piano is booming and urgent, a little unsettling, incredibly raw. Honest. And then there’s his voice, which is startling as much for its clarity as for the reckless way Leming wields it.” — MTV.com

Josiah Leming November 2008 tour dates:

(Dates and information subject to change.)

November 12 - Biltmore Cabaret - Vancouver, BC
November 13 - Hawthorne Theatre - Portland, OR
November 14 - El Corazon - Seattle, WA
November 16 - Red Devil Lounge - San Francisco, CA
November 18 - Downtown Brew - San Luis Obispo, CA
November 19 - The Coach House - San Juan Capistrano, CA
November 20 - Plush - Tucson, AZ
November 22 - Dos Amigos - Odessa, TX
November 23 - Midnite Rodeo - Abilene, TX
November 24 - The Marquee - Tulsa, OK
November 26 - Young Avenue Deli - Memphis, TN

Josiah Leming MySpace

Third Eye Blind are about to release their first batch of new songs in five years via a digital EP, entitled ‘Red Star’, on November 18th, 2008. The material, which includes three new tracks along with additional video content, will be followed by a full-length release, ‘Ursa Major’, in 2009.

Third Eye Blind on amazon.com

Listen to the official mix of Third Eye Blind’s new song:

Download “Non-Dairy Creamer” MP3

Listen to the mix created by Eduardo Reynoso Jr. as part of the “Studio Access” program.

Last but not least, much has been written about Third Eye Blind singer Stephan Jenkins’ recent comments about the state of the album as a viable format for releasing music.

However, Jenkins does not believe the album format is dead at all…see the letter below from Jenkins for further discourse on the subject.

WHAT IS AN ALBUM?
- from Stephan Jenkins

My life is measured out in albums I have loved. We try to make those albums.

On November 18th, THIRD EYE BLIND is going to release three new songs from our upcoming album, Ursa Major. It’s been five years since we put out our last album. Since then, the options on how to release music have exploded. Yay!

All of these options made us ask: What’s an album? How does one want to encounter it? Reaching people with music is our challenge and purpose-how should we do it? Here’s what we think.

Albums are the most vital and compelling art form in my life. “Bohemian Rhapsody” is my favorite opera just by virtue of brevity! I grew up with headphones and liner notes, finding my identity through albums, and I have spent my life making them.

Led Zeppelin, every album (’cept Presence!) sounds dangerous and compelling to this day. The Police’s first three albums are still liberating and exotic. The Velvet Underground, Prince, Cat Stevens, The Clash, Joy Division, A Tribe Called Quest, Jane’s Addiction, and most influential to me, Camper Van Beethoven - their albums owned me probably more than I owned them.

I spent last year getting crushed by The Raconteurs, Justice, Foals, M.I.A., and Kings of Leon.

I can’t wait to put out Ursa Major in hopes that others will feel about it the way I do about bands I love. I personally won’t feel like Ursa Major is done until I put the vinyl on the turntable and until I’m holding the CD in my hand.

I prefer albums to singles and mix tapes and playlists. I still put vinyl on my turntable and freak out about how good Icky Thump sounds recorded on 16 track tape heads.

However, the album was created by the limitations of vinyl - about forty-five minutes and then expanded to the CD - about eighty minutes. Artists like The Beatles, the Beach Boys, and Pink Floyd made cohesive pieces of art from these limitations.

Albums were also created so that record executives could make cash. Albums require huge time commitments and budgets and then lots of promotion and album cycles and of course key tracks and hit singles, and payola, and getting signed and getting dropped, and 360 deals, and a very few people at the top of corporations who are interested in quarterly statements and ameliorating risk and who know what’s best for your band.

We love albums, we also feel limited by them. All I am saying is your website can now be your album, an ongoing ever-changing one that grows and morphs and reflects your creative impulses as you have them. Grab the moment of a song and share it the night you finished it. Make art that you have for it and post it. Then go play some shows and record some more. Physical and digital releases can interconnect and enhance each other.

The album cycle is endless, the connection between band and audience is unbroken. How fluid and creatively freeing. And the best part is you don’t have to get permission from a boss in order to do it. Yay!

This all seems so much more democratic to me. Fewer people at the top will become billionaires this way, but more people will make a living making music. More bands who must be heard but couldn’t make a physical album have a chance. More music is available to kids like I was whose very identity depends on finding it. These are the days!

And while we are at it, I think the hit single is arcane as well. The songs that have resonated the longest with 3EB’s audience sometimes haven’t even been on our albums (see “Slow Motion”).

Oil paintings require oil paint in order to exist, it’s true. Music can exist and thrive in all kinds of formats — not just albums or singles. Maybe your best canvas is a website. Still friends?

I know that 3EB is launching a new website soon and we are giving it a lot of creative attention. It will be a device to engage our music, find, and share with others around music. We see it as one big digital album that will also go with our physical albums.

Finally, this is not an “us against them” argument. Majors continue to support hugely entertaining albums and I have worked with a lot of people at majors (like WEA) who care passionately about music. They are not going away and neither is the album.

I’m saying that choices are exploding. Albums are not the only way, and perhaps not even the most creative and effective way. Then again, they may be the way for you. Third Eye Blind is going to keep making records because we like them. But we are also going to put up songs like the three we are putting out on November 18th for download.

We might also in the future post a song when we record it and then maybe put out the album later.

WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT WE ARE DOING! We don’t think anyone else does either and we love it. We consider these to be exciting times to be lost in. I hope you have the choice and I hope you continue to find yourselves and each other through music.

Third Eye Blind Official Website

Gramercy Arms is an ever (r)evolving collective of New York-based artists. On their self-titled debut, due November 18th, 2008, via Cheap Lullaby, the band comprises members of Guided By Voices, Luna, Joan as Police Woman, Dead Air and The Dambuilders.

A love letter to a classic New York sound, Dave Derby’s disaffected poetic sensibilities mesh with the guitar virtuosity of Sean Eden and Hilken Mancini in the grand Gotham tradition of the Velvet Underground and Television, shot through with a love of seventies pop rock. Padding the band’s resume to an almost ridiculous degree, Gramercy has called on additional contributors for this release, from Nada Surf’s Matthew Caws, who sings on “Nothing I Can Do” to Joan “As Police Woman” Wasser, who lends her vocals to “Wander On.”

In addition, the album features performances from Lloyd Cole, Chris Brokaw as well as members of The Pernice Brothers, Mascott, Shudder to Think and comedienne Sarah Silverman, a friend of band leaders Rainy Orteca and Dave Derby, who provides backup vocals for the summery “Looking at the Sun.”

On December 6th, 2008, the supergroup will celebrate the release of Gramercy Arms and take the stage for their lone live performance of the winter alongside Nada Surf and Jealous Girlfriends at Bowery Ballroom in NYC.

Download “Looking At The Sun” MP3 From Gramercy Arms [Cheap Lullaby; November 18th]

Gramercy Arms Live:

12-06-2008 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom (w/Nada Surf, Jealous Girlfriends)

Tracklisting For Gramercy Arms:

1 Automatic
2 Looking At The Sun
3 Nothing I Can Do
4 Since Last September
5 Fakin’
6 Wander On
7 Shining Bright
8 Automaton
9 I Believe
10 Moving Slow

For More Information, go to:

Gramercy Arms MySpace
Gramercy Arms Official Website

Brooklyn indie popsters Au Revoir Simone are gearing up for the November 11th, 2008 release of ‘Reverse Migration’, a collection of their favorite remixes and re-envisionings of 2007’s breakthrough full-length ‘The Bird of Music’, by offering up a handful of tracks from the album in advance of its release.

Last month, Ruff and Jam’s take on “Lark” was premiered by Stereogum. This week, the Pacific remix of “Sad Song” is available on Band Weblogs. Other artists on ‘Reverse Migration’ include The Teenagers, Darkel of AIR, Montag, Best Fwends, and Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor. What’s more, Amazon.com digital shoppers will get an additional remix of “Sad Song” by Air France, while iTunes users can look forward to a ReRunner reworking of “The Way to There” as a bonus track.

Download Pacific’s Remix of “Sad Song” MP3 from Au Revoir Simone’s ‘Reverse Migration’ [Our Secret Record Company; November 11th, 2008]

Reverse Migration on amazon.com

What The Press Says About Au Revoir Simone’s ‘The Bird of Music’:

“Powered by vintage keyboards, a lockstep beat box, and gorgeous, wide-eyed warbling, the Simones create make-out music for your inner android.” - SPIN

“Three hot indie chicks with synths, the ladies of Au Revoir Simone create ethereal electro-pop perfect for a lazy Sunday morning.” - Rolling Stone

“Au Revoir Simone is a delicious streak of melancholy that evokes Pet Sounds, mid-70’s art rockers Robert Wyatt and Eno and post-punk miniaturists Young Marble Giants.” - Mojo

Reverse Migration Tracklist

01. The Lucky One - Slow Club
02. Sad Song - Pacific!
03. Fallen Snow - The Teenagers
04. I Couldn’t Sleep - Darkel
05. A Violent Yet Flammable World - Montag
06. Don’t See The Sorrow - Keith Murray
07. Dark Halls - Best Fwends
08. Night Majestic - Matt Harding
09. Stars - Disco Pusher
10. Lark - Ruff and Jam
11. The Way To There - Mark-Anthony Tieku
12. Sad Song - Alexis Taylor
13. The Lucky One - James Yuill

Au Revoir Simone Official Website
Au Revoir Simone MySpace

The Sword have just announced US headlining dates in support of its critically-acclaimed new album ‘Gods of the Earth’.

The band will headline a slew of off-dates while on tour supporting Metallica, who hand-picked the celebrated Austin, TX quartet on its upcoming North American tour, set to launch October 21, 2008 in Glendale, AZ.

Teaser clips for the Metallica/The Sword run can be viewed online at the locations below. In addition to headlining off-dates during the Metallica tour, The Sword will team up with Lamb of God for a string of shows this December.

Download MP3: “Fire Lances Of The Ancient Hyperzephyrians” from ‘Gods Of the Earth’

The Sword’s brand new music video for the towering single “How Heavy this Axe” will make its world premiere Tuesday, October 21 on MTV2. The kaleidoscopic clip, which pays homage to the classic Black Sabbath videos “Paranoid” and “Iron Man”, will also air as part of the network’s “Headbangers Ball: 20th Anniversary” programming. The week-long celebration, which will feature noteworthy interviews, archive footage from the program’s past 20 years, a roundtable discussion with ex-Headbangers Ball VJ’s and more will include the “How Heavy this Axe” video as part of the Saturday, October 25 edition of “Headbangers Ball”.

The Sword’s sophomore album ‘Gods of the Earth’ was released this past April on Kemado Records.

METALLICA/THE SWORD TEASER CLIPS

Clip 1 Watch video

Clip 2 Watch video

The Sword 2008/2009 tour dates:

(Dates and information subject to change.)

October 21 - Glendale, AZ @ Jobing Arena *
October 23 - Albuquerque, NM @ Tingley Coliseum *
October 25 - Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center *
October 26 - Des Moines, IA @ Wells Fargo Arena *
October 27 - Minneapolis MN @ Triple Rock Social Club #
October 28 - Sioux Falls, SD @ Nuttys #
October 30 - Missoula, MT @ The Palace #
November 1 - Portland, OR @ Rose Quarter *
November 2 - Boise ID @ Neurolux #
November 3 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Energy Solutions Arena *
November 4 - Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center *
November 5 - Wichita, KS @ Barleycorns #
November 6 - Omaha, NE @ Qwest Center *
November 7 - Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge #
November 8 - Moline, IL @ iWireless Center *
November 9 - Columbus, @ OH Schottenstein Center *
November 10 - Nashville, TN @ Exit / In #
November 11 - Asheville, NC @ Stella Blue #
November 12 - Raleigh, NC @ Lincoln Theater #
November 14 - Hiltonhead, SC @ Shoreline Ballroom #
November 15 - Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade #
November 16 - Covington, KY @ Madhatter #
November 17 - St. Louis, MO @ Scottrade Center *
November 18 - Tulsa, OK @ BOK Center *
November 19 - Ft. Worth, TX @ Lola’s #
November 20 - Houston, TX @ Toyota Center *
November 21 - New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks #
November 22 - Little Rock, AR @ Alltel Arena *
November 23 - New Orleans, LA @ New Orleans Arena *
December 1 - Seattle, WA @ Key Arena *
December 2 - Vancouver, BC @ GM Place *
December 4 - Calgary, AB @ Pengrowth Saddledome *
December 6 - Saskatoon, SK @ Prairieland Exhibition Hall (w/ Lamb of God)
December 7 - Edmonton, AB @ Rexall Place *
December 9 - Spokane, SK @ Knitting Factory Concert House (w/ Lamb of God)
December 10 - Portland, OR @ Roseland Theatre (w/ Lamb of God)
December 11 - Chico, CA @ Senator Theatre (w/ Lamb of God)
December 12 - Ontario, CA @ Citizens Bank Arena *
December 13 - Fresno, CA @ Save Mart Center *
December 15 - San Diego, CA @ Cox Arena *
December 17 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum *
December 19 - Ventura, CA @ Majestic Ventura Theatre (w/ Lamb of God)
December 20 - Oakland, CA @ Oracle Arena *
January 12 - Milwaukee, WI @ Bradley Center *
January 13 - Detroit, MI @ Joe Louis Arena *
January 14 - Washington, DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel #
January 15 - Washington, DC @ Verizon Center *
January 16 - Westchester, PA @ The Note #
January 17 - Philadelphia, PA @ Wachovia Center *
January 18 - Boston, MA @ TD Banknorth Center *
January 20 - Albany, NY @ Revolution #
January 21 - Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground #
January 22 - Buffalo, NY @ The Tralf #
January 23 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls #
January 24 - Cleveland, OH @ The Grog Shop #
January 25 - Columbus, OH @ Ravari Room #
January 26 - Chicago, IL @ Allstate Arena *
January 29 - Uniondale, NY @ Nassau Coliseum *
January 31 - Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center *

* supporting Metallica
# headlining date

“The Sword believe in loud the way it used to be” - ROLLING STONE

“Purveyors of Shred…The Sword doesn’t simply rock, they battle.” - METRO NEW YORK

The Sword Official Website

MySpace

Four Texan dudes called Honey Claws have come into the fiesta and they’re bringin’ the future with them. A mostly electronic, mostly funky, 14-track hip-hop epic, Honey Claws’ self-titled debut album is a pulsing, cursing, spitting, raving, fun-loving, literate, club-killing record bound to please the masses.

Download “Shout Out” MP3

Multi-instrumentalists Dr. Zero, Ben Senior, Jon Von Letscher, and Traey Hatch went down in the lab with a pen and a pad (in Austin and Houston, respectively) and came out six months later with something very special. Absent in their debut is any sense of confirmed or confined genre, but at the same time it’s a fully realized sound, part mad scientist hip-hop experiment, part soulful psychedelic wall of sound.

Available digitally now, Honey Claws’ self-titled debut is, at its very heart, an electronic animal. When its heart beats, you feel the floor shaking from sixty-six blocks away. Sexed-up beats pulse thick with electro bass while a whole pile of robotic trippiness blankets the sound in a way that recalls like minded souls Daft Punk, Odelay-era Beck, and Kraftwerk. Still, the sound is all their own. Without Honey Claws there would be no Honey Claws music. Without Honey Claws music there would be no Honey Claws. They are a unique and new creature unto themselves.

If you’re lucky enough to be in New Zealand or Australia, don’t miss your chance to see Honey Claws live!!

Honey Claws November/December 2008 Tour Dates:

(Dates and information subject to change.)

11.15.08 - JunkbOx @ Aisha! - Central, Auckland
11.22.08 - Aisha - Central, Auckland
11.28.08 - JunkbOx @ Aisha! - Midtown, Auckland
11.29.08 - Sagatarian MeAt eaTerz Ball - Akward, Auckland
12.05.08 - Revolver - Melbourne, Victoria
12.12.08 - JunkbOx @ Aisha! - Midtown, Auckland
12.20.08 - Aisha - Central, Auckland
12.28.08 - BW Camping Festival - Gisborne, Gisborne
12.31.08 - Rhythm and Vines - Gisborne, Gisborne

More tour dates TBA…

For more information on Honey Claws, please visit:

Honey Claws Official Website
MySpace

With the release of ‘F***ed Up Friends’ on the immediate horizon, an unlikely supporter has swooped in to offer help for beat-pysch sideshow Tobacco.

Indeed, the star of the Truth anti-smoking ads, Derrick Beckles, has apparently gone pro-Tobacco. Surprising or not (if you’ve caught his work at Street Boners and TV Carnage, probably not), Beckles has created an absurdly hillarious multi-part video series in support of Tobacco and the forthcoming ‘F***ed Up Friends’, due October 14th, 2008 via Anticon.

Check out the first clip in the series below, which premiered over on Beckles’ site, and keep an eye out for more to follow over the coming weeks.

Watch Tobacco Sounds Delicious:

For the uninitiated, ‘F***ed Up Friends’ is the solo debut from one half of analog-adoring space psychsters Black Moth Super Rainbow, whose critical smash ‘Dandelion Gum’ was released last year. Tobacco’s debut bristles with the same life, but flirts with even more sinister undercurrents and far out textures. Recently, the Hood Internet gave the album the serious mash up treatment, taking sections of more than a half dozen album tracks and turned them into a seamless mix featuring catalog highlights from Aesop Rock, who appears on the single, “Dirt.”

Tobacco - Download Truck Sweat MP3

Fresh off a run of dates with WHY?, Tobacco is getting set to perform later this month alongside Fujiya and Miyagi at the annual CMJ music marathon in NYC. Full list of dates, and track listing below.

10/22 New York, NY - Mercury Lounge w/Fujiya & Miyagi
10/23 New York, NY - TBA

Track Listing:

01 Street Trash
02 Truck Sweat
03 Hairy Candy
04 Hawker Boat
05 Side 8 (Big Gums Version)
06 Yum Yum Cult
07 Berries That Burn
08 Get My Nails Did
09 Dirt (Featuring Aesop Rock)
10 Gross Magik
11 Little Pink Riding Hood
12 Backwoods Altar
13 –
14 Tape Eater
15 Pink Goo
16 Grease Wizard

For more music and information:

Tobacco MySpace

Pictured: Fredrik

Two new Kora Records October releases are coming up! Ithaca, NY’s The Piano Creeps and Malmo, Sweden’s Fredrik.

On October 28th, 2008 it’s the album ‘Na Na Ni’ by Fredrik from Malmo, Sweden.

Fredrik is a new remarkable pop outfit, casually capturing the spirit of classic storybook drama through a highly personal, foresty brand of experimental pop. Despite the name, Fredrik is actually a small orchestra of six, sporting input from some of the very finest of the swedish pop and experimental underground (Band in Box, Scraps of Tape, Vit Päls, The LK).

Download “Black Fur” Mp3

Drawing on traditional European folk influences like The Fairport Convention or Bo Hansson, crooning songwriters as well as a host of eclectic references like Moondog, Steve Reich, Jim O’Rourke, Maja Ratke or Barbara Morgenstern, Fredrik forges a sound that is both eclectic and homecomingly soothing.

Watch Fredrik - “1986″ video:

The band makes its way to America for their first ever US tour this November.

Fredrik November 2008 Tour Dates:

11.5.08 - DC - DC9
11.6.08 - Baltimore - Metro Gallery
11.7.08 - New York - Cake Shop
11.9.08 - Pittsburgh - Brillobox
11.12.08 - Boston - TT the Bear’s
11.13.08 - Portland, ME - Space 538
11.15.08 - New York - Piano’s
More to be announced.
(updates posted at Kora Records - Shows)

Tuesday, October 14, 2008, Kora Records is releasing ‘Future Blues (for me and you)’ by The Piano Creeps, the collaboration of Billy Coté, Mary Lorson and Kathy Ziegler.

Coté and Lorson were the songwriter and lead singer of 90’s alt-pop band Madder Rose. That band made four albums, three of which were really good, and toured the world, headlining the Melody Maker stage at England’s Reading Festival, doing a John Peel session, and enjoying critical approval if not staggering sales. After Madder Rose, Coté created the nihilist slack-hop project Jazz Cannon with vocalist Don Greene while Lorson explored her inner auteur on three Saint Low discs with UK label Cooking Vinyl.

The pair have also joined forces to create several original film scores (including HBO’s “What Remains” about the photographer Sally Mann) and one very amusing young male human. Their songs have been placed in numerous films and television shows, including the last season of “The Sopranos,” “Alias,” “Felicity,” “Skins” (UK) and others too forgettable to mention.

While all this was going on, Kathy Ziegler was touring as a multi-instrumentalist with Abra Moore, Jim Lauderdale, and Donna the Buffalo, winning international songwriting competitions and finding time to write and produce three excellent solo cds. Ziegler produced the track “Spider” on Lorson’s third Saint Low CD, “Realistic.” She also knows how to build and fix guitars. Ziegler and husband songwriter Jairo van Lunteren will relocate with their two young children to the Netherlands, and will continue to tour, both with the Piano Creeps and their solo projects.

A glimpse at their past - Madder Rose performing at Glastonbury in 1994.

The Piano Creeps MySpace

Fredrik MySpace

The Kora Records

I’ve been enjoying Brett Dennen’s new “Make You Crazy” track from his upcoming release ‘Hope for the Hopeless’ out October 21, 2008. The song features the legendary Femi Kuti.

Luckily for me and all of you, the track is available right here as a FREE download!!

Download “Make You Crazy” MP3

Watch the video of Brett performing “Make You Crazy” on NYC NPR station WFUV:

Brett Dennen - Hope for the Hopeless (Dig) on amazon.com

For more music and information, go to:

Brett Dennen Official Website
MySpace

MC Frontalot, The Godfather of Nerdcore Rap, is at it again, bringing his parsecs of knowledge to your cochlea with his newest album, ‘Final Boss’, set for release November 4th, 2008. Featuring guest spots from Glen Phillips (Toad the Wet Sprocket), Jonathan Coulton and Wil Wheaton, ‘Final Boss’ is unabashedly geek-tastic.

Download “Wallflowers” MP3

MC Frontalot holds forth on topics ranging from cryptozoology (“Scare Goat”) to improper use of punctuation (“Tongue-Clucking Grammarian”) to a new dance based on a grand-dame (“Wallflowers”).

The album takes its title from Front’s track of the same name, featured in the video game “On the Rainslick Precipice of Darkness” from the makers of the popular webcomic, Penny Arcade.

Front’s chameleon-like adaptability is on full display with the release of ‘Final Boss’. Tongue-twisting lyrics lie over swathes of eclectic samples and beats from a wide variety of genres. A true master of ceremonies, Frontalot ushers us through his multi-faceted offerings with wit and aplomb.

MC Frontalot, also known by his given name Damian Hess, pioneered nerdcore, a subgenre of hip-hop performed by nerds for nerds. Hess recorded his first Frontalot rhyme in 1999 (before an adoring audience of Robotech figurines), subsequently posting music to his own website and SongFight. The independently produced tracks earned him a devoted audience, including the founders of Penny Arcade who named Front their “official MC” in 2002 and invited him to play at their annual Expo. In 2005 he released his first album, ‘Nerdcore Rising’.

One year later, Front embarked on his first US tour with bandmates G minor 7, Blak Lotus and The Categorical Imperative and filmmaker Negin Farsad. The material that Farsad came away with was eventually turned into the prize-winning documentary “Nerdcore Rising: The Movie” which premiered to rave reviews at SXSW 2008. After the release of ‘Final Boss’, Frontalot looks forward to touring this fall.

MC Frontalot 2008 Tour Dates:

(Dates and information subject to change.)

11/01: Long Island, NY @ Crazy Donkey
11/03: Boston, MA @ Harpers Ferry
11/04: Teaneck, NJ @ Mexicali Live
11/05: Albany, NY @ The Linda
11/13: Boulder, CO @ Blacksheep
11/16: Seattle, WA @ High Dive
11/19: Oakland, CA @ The Uptown
11/21: Bakersfield, CA @ Jerry’s
11/23: Las Vegas, NV @ Jillian’s
11/28: Austin, TX @ Flamingo Cantina
11/29: Dallas, TX @ Double Wide
12/05: Marrieta, GA @ Swayze’s
12/07: Charlotte, NC @ Milestone
12/09: Vienna, VA @ Jammin Java
12/10: Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
12/11: Doylestown, PA @ Siren Records
12/12: Philadelphia, PA @ Khyber Upstairs
12/14: Hoboken, NJ @ Maxwell’s

“MC Frontalot, who defined the subculture with 2000’s “Nerdcore Hip-Hop,” crams tons of words into raps about goth girls and text-adventure games; his look is strictly ’70s math teacher, while his quirky cadences are reminiscent of Kool Keith or late-’90s Anticon MCs.” - XLR8R

Photo Credit: Phil Palios / Philthy Photography

For more information on MC Frontalot, go to:

MC Frontalot Official Website
MySpace