The Music Obsession

Thursday, May 20, 2010

What I'm Listening To - "Dark Blue"

>> I haven't posted one of these in a while. So this is my Genius mix for "Dark Blue" by Jack's Mannequin. It has 22 out of the original 25 songs. Check it out, hope you like it!

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Get Hyped: Hawthorne Heights Tour June 2010

>> Hawthorne Heights is going on tour with The Audition & The Story Changes this June.

Dates:
6/3/10 - The Loft, Lansing, MI
6/4/10 - Headliner’s, Toledo, OH
6/5/10 - Fred Jr’s, Huntington, WV
6/6/10 - The Canopy, Urbana, IL
6/8/10 - Emerson Theatre, Indianapolis, IN
6/10/10 - The Loft, Dallas, TX
6/11/10 - Warehouse Live, Houston, TX
6/13/10 - Emo’s, Austin, TX
6/15/10 - Varsity Theatre, Baton Rouge, LA
6/18/10 - The Social, Orlando, FL
6/19/10 - Bourbon Street Nightclub, Newport Richey, FL
6/20/10 - The Masquerade, Atlanta, GA
6/21/10 - New Brookland Tavern, Columbia, SC
6/22/10 - Amo’s Southend, Charlotte, NC

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Get Hyped: Motel 6 presents: Rock Yourself To Sleep Tour

>> Motel 6 presents the Rock Yourself to Sleep Tour featuring Every Avenue, Sing It Loud, The Secret Handshake, & There For Tomorrow. The tour runs from 6/10/10 - 7/29/10. Visit rockyourselftosleep.com for more information.

Dates:

6/10/10 Altoona, PA @ Eldolyn Terrace
6/11/10 Allentown, PA @ Crocodile Rock
6/12/10 Poughkeepsie, NY @ The Chance
6/13/10 Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls
6/15/10 St. Louis, MO @ Fubar
6/16/10 Tulsa, OK @ The Marquee
6/17/10 Austin, TX @ Emo’s
6/18/10 Houston, TX @ The Warsaw
6/19/10 Dallas, TX @ The Door
6/20/10 Lubbock, TX @ Tequila Jungle
6/22/10 Tempe, AZ @ Martini Ranch
6/23/10 Pomona, CA @ Glasshouse
6/24/10 West Hollywood, CA @ Troubadour
6/25/10 San Diego, CA @ Soma Sidestage
6/26/10 Fresno, CA @ Club Retro
6/27/10 Sacramento, CA @ Boardwalk
6/28/10 San Francisco, CA @ Slims
6/29/10 Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre
6/30/10 Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
7/02/10 Salt Lake City, UT @ Complex
7/03.10 Denver, CO @ Marquis
7/05.10 Omaha, NE @ Sokol Underground
7/06/10 St. Paul, MN @ Station 4
7/07/10 Chicago, IL @ Metro
7/09/10 Memphis, TN @ New Daisy Theatre
7/10/10 Nashville, TN @ Rockettown
7/11/10 Columbia, SC @ New Brookland Tavern
7/12/10 Jacksonville Beach, FL @ Jackrabbits
7/13/10 Tampa, FL @ State Theatre
7/14/10 Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Culture Room
7/15/10 Orlando, FL @ The Social
7/16/10 Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
7/17/10 Raleigh, NC @ The Brewery
7/18/10 Virginia Beach, VA @ Skate High
7/20/10 New York, NY @ Gramercy
7/21/10 Towson, MD @ Recher Theatre
7/22/10 Long Island, NY @ Crazy Donkey
7/23/10 Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero
7/24/10 Worcester, MA @ Palladium
7/25/10 Albany, NY @ Northern Lights
7/26/10 Buffalo, NY @ Xtreme Wheels
7/28/10 Cleveland, OH @ Peabodys
7/29/10 Grand Rapids, MI @ The Mixtape

Monday, May 10, 2010

Get Hyped: FriendsOrEnemies.com presents the Unsigned VIP's Tour

>> FriendsOrEnemies.com is announcing their first unsigned VIP tour! Set It Off, Barely Blind, and With The Punches will be heading out late May through late June. More dates are coming soon, but check out these for now:

Set It Off and Barely Blind:
5/29 - Tampa, FL - State Theatre
5/30 - Miami, FL - Rocketown
6/1 - Pensacola, FL - The Vault

Set It Off, Barely Blind and With The Punches:
6/4 - Houston, TX - Shadowplay Lounge
6/6 - Plano, TX - Eisenbergs
6/7 - Tulsa, OK - Hominy Lake
6/9 - St. Louis, MO - Ciceros
6/12 - Minneapolis, MN - The Garage
6/13 - La Crosse, WI - The Warehouse
6/15 - Muncie, IN - Solution Ramp Park
6/17 - Toledo, OH - Frankie’s
6/18 - Detroit, MI - I Lounge
6/22- California, PA - Jozart Studios
6/23- Hamden, CT - The Space
6/24 - Philly, PA - The Gold Room
6/25 - New York, NY - (Venue coming soon)
6/26 - Butler, NJ - Fusion Overdrive Cafe

Click here for more information.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Cartel | MySpace Music Videos

>> I've been uploading a bunch of my own videos today as well. I finally finished adding all of the ones from when I saw Owl City on 4/24/10, and Now I've started posting videos from Bamboozle on Saturday May 1st! Go check them out on my YouTube Channel! Make sure to comment your favorites ;)

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Interview: Tru Fam

>> I've been meaning to broaden the genres of music I write about, and what better way to do that than by talking to an artist like Tru Fam ? It's not just their pop spin on good hip-hop songs that sets them apart, but the fact that they're twin brothers making music together certainly helps them stand out as well. Read the interview, then listen to their music to see for yourselves how real and unique they are :)

Introduce yourselves.

We are a twin pop/Hip Hop group called Tru Fam from New Jersey. Our names are Young Sha and Just-I and we are guys who love music and it shows thru our own music and our performances.

Where are you from? What's the local music scene like there?

Tru Fam is from New Jersey. The music is usually Hard core Hip Hop but we are here to change that and show everyone that its more than the streets.

Who are some of your biggest influences, in music and in life?

Well God first and our Manager who is our mom had a lot to do with how we turned out…In music we were influenced by Kanye West ,Will I Am , Jay Z and any of the Pop Icons in today’s World.

How long have you been making music together?

Going on about five years …Now

What made you decide that you wanted to pursue a career in music?

Lol for us really just seeing Puff Daddy and Mase and the whole Bad Boy records, Got us..We loved the shiny suits ,the energy that they brought and how the made it look fun..People said we reminded them of those guys so once we realized we had some talent..The Rest was history..

What’s it like working with your brother? (What are some of the pros & cons?)

To me our pros is that we think alike and we are so innovative when we are together. Our vibe is so crazy together. We are so focused when we are together and to put it in a small phrase we are a perfect team who complement each other..A con is that if you arguing with him over the music your basically arguing with your brother..Not Good…Lol

For those who haven’t heard it yet, how would you describe your sound?

If you haven’t heard our music be prepared for a Electronica /pop beat with some good Lyrics..The energy on the songs are incredible and you and your friends can enjoy the music..

What makes your music stand out?

Our music stands out because its simply Just who we are..You can tell its real and sincere..You can feel the vibe between the two of us and girls just love it..

What do you consider your biggest accomplishment so far as musicians?

Getting a distribution deal with Sony/RED..WAS HUGE..We are our own bosses so we feel great about that..Really ,Really good about that..

How has your affiliation with Sony/Red Records helped you?

We are able to get our music out there faster and just gain exposure and get way more shows…Anytime Sony is backing you up, your pretty good..

Do you have any shows coming up?

Always doing show but from now thru October we are on A Summer Festival tour in New Jersey..Actually it starts this Sunday in Maplewood N.J..

Best/favorite/craziest experience at a show?

Loved the Six Flags show..Just to see the crowd enjoying us and asking for auto graphs was crazy…The craziest show was actually recently and it was when a guy thought he was a superstar and lets just say the audience and I disagreed..I never saw a more funnier performance in my life..via TV ,INTERNET YOU NAME IT..LOL

Who would you love to collaborate with?

Too many to name..But Will- I-AM ,Justin Beiber ,Jay-z …..Jump out at me

What are some goals that you want to accomplish with your music in the future?

Just to be able to do more shows and show everyone our talent..Would to meet more ppl in the industry and learn from them..Possibly perform at the MTV Awards and grace the pages of some top Magazines..Also touring the world ..Would be great

Favorites:

Album(s)? Usher Confessions, Kanye West 808s and Heartbreaks, Lil Wayne Carter 3, and too many others to name

Movie?

Paid in Full , Juice ,40 Year old Virgin, Step Brothers and America Gangsta

Video game?

Madden games and Nba 2k

Song to perform live?

That’s my Ish ..Really gets the crowd going..

Thanks for the interview. Just want everyone to know that we are thankful for the support and to promote us to your family and friends

Thanks again to Tru Fam :)

www.myspace.com/trufam

www.trufamusic2.blogspot.com

http://trufamusic.com/fr_download.cfm

Get Hyped: The Maine, WTK, Cartel, AVP, Stereo Skyline Spring Tour 2010

>> The Maine are on tour with We The Kings, Cartel, Artist Vs Poet, and Stereo Skyline now through May 7th.

RSVP here!
Click the links at the bottom of the event (& this post) for FREE EXCLUSIVE DOWNLOAD PACKS with music, videos, and photos from the bands!

Dates:
4.11.10 - Nashville, TN @ Rocketown
http://musiccitybooking.com/shows/
4.12.10 - Augusta, GA @ Sector 7G
4.14.10 - Charleston, SC @ The Music Farm
http://allinent.com/typography-mainmenu-28.html
4.16.10 - Birmingham, AL @ WorkPlay Theatre
http://www.workplay.com/purchase-ticket
4.18.10 - Pensacola, FL @ Phineas Phogg’s
http://glorydays.musictoday.com/GloryDaysBooking/calendar.aspx
4.20.10 - Raleigh, NC @ Lincoln Theatre
http://allinent.com/typography-mainmenu-28.html
4.21.10 - West Columbia, SC @ New Brookland Tavern
http://allinent.com/typography-mainmenu-28.html
4.23.10 - Allentown, PA @ Crocodile Rock
http://www.crocodilerockcafe.com/concerts.asp
4.24.10 - South Hackensack, NJ @ School of Rock
http://beasley.wsu.edu/buy-tickets.html
4.25.10 - Lancaster, PA @ Chameleon
http://www.ticketmaster.com/venue/16471
4.27.10 - Baltimore, MD @ Bourbon Street Ballroom
http://www.missiontix.com/index.cfm?venue=-bb
4.28.10 - Farmingdale, NY @ The Crazy Donkey
http://www.concertideas.com/#/search/ticket
4.29.10 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Altar Bar
http://www.altarbarpittsburgh.com/
5.01.10 - Portland, ME @ Deering Grange
5.02.10 - Providence, RI @ Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel
http://www.lupos.com/Splash.html
5.04.10 - So. Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
http://www.highergroundmusic.com/
5.05.10 - Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of the Living Arts
5.06.10 - Northampton, MA @ Pearl Street
http://www.nbotickets.com/
5.07.10 - Rochester, NY @ Water Street Music Hall
http://www.waterstreetmusic.com/tickets.htm

MP3 & PHOTO DOWNLOAD PACK
VIDEO DOWNLOAD PACK

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Interview: Our People Versus Yours

>> Remember a while back when I mentioned that I'd be interviewing Our People Versus Yours ? Well, the emails finally went through and now I can finally say that I have interviewed a band from another country :) OPVY is a group of guys straight out of the UK who love Thrice & fried chicken. Read the interview and, who knows, you may just fall in love with the band.

Hi, I'm James and I'm the founder of OPVY, for no reason other than practicality I shall be answering questions on behalf of the band.

Introduce yourselves. (Who does what in the band?)
James Sweeting; Guitar and vocals, Steven Ralph; Guitar, Dan Clark, Bass and vocals, Harvey Freeman; Drums, Joe Miles; Vocals

Where are you from? How would you describe the local music scene there?
We're from Romford/ which is in essex in the UK. Although there are some good Venues around Essex as a whole, our home towns have nowhere you could really call a "venue" and although the scene is ok, it is quite small.

Is there anything specific to your hometown or country that inspires your lyrics? (Maybe something not as popular in the States.)
Not really in all honesty, we don't sing about where we're from because nothing paticularily interesting happens here haha

What are some of your earliest memories that made you want to get into music?

For me (James) it was hearing Linkin Park on the radio in America. I was getting into metal before but hearing something a little different to the usual dross they play made me realise that there is a market for it.

What kind of music did you listen to growing up?
As a kid we were all brought up on the usual hits (spice girls ftw) but i think we all started on the usual alternative stuff: Blink 182, Slipknot, Linkin Park, Green Day, Korn, Metallica etc etc. It's only when you start growing up a bit you realise theres a lot of better less mainstream bands out there.

How’d you guys get together to form this band?

It all started when I was in a band called severance, we only played a few local shows and weren't really serious, but Levi came to one of the shows and enjoyed the music. Me and Levi decided to form a band as Severance were breaking up (the others were leaving for uni) after doing a bit of searching on social networking sites we found enough members to form a real band. Levi's left now, and many people have come and gone but I'm the only original member.

Who named the band? How’d you come up with that name?
The band was named by our old vocalist James Davenport in about january 2008. Basically it's a lyric from an architects song, it doesn't have any inherent meaning, we just thought it sounded cool

Have you ever heard a song and thought, “Wow, I wish I wrote that!” ?
we've never discussed this as a band. I'm sure everyone of us have an opinion on amazing songs that we should have written. For miles by Thrice is probably one of the best songs i've ever heard, but we should have wrote something like bohemian rhapsody by queen so we could be raking in the millions haha

Do you have a certain process you always use when it comes to songwriting?
Usually one of us picks up a guitar and writes a song and brings it to practice and says "hey check it out" it's that simple really. Then Joe or someone else in the band will start writing lyrics for it and we just practice practice practice, add bits, remove bits, tweak it till we think it's good enough to record or play live.

Out of all the songs you've written, which are you most proud of?
it might sound arrogant but all of them. Bands grow up and change so of course we look at some songs and think "oh i wish we hadn't done this" but we wouldn't actually finish, record and perform songs that we weren't proud of.

What’s your favorite part about being in this band?
Writing music and jumping around on stage with your mates. It really is quite a bit of fun.

For those who haven’t heard it yet, how would you describe your music?
I think it's quite hard to describe the band, we have so many different influences at work i don't really think we sound like one paticular genre. Obviously over all we are under the "metal" branch, but we have songs that are slow and epic and beautiful, then songs that are fast and heavy and strange time signatures. We don't want to limit ourselves to one genre. The last song on the new EP "Southern Colours" is an accoustic song with very personal lyrics. I'd simply describe our music as "good" haha

Have you been compared to other bands?
No not really, it's frustrating trying to tell people what we sound like in all honesty so if you have any suggestions be our guest!

Do you think some people expect your music to sound a certain way because you're from the UK?

We've never heard any comments about the fact that we're british, in fact the majority of our sales from iTunes are from America. Maybe they expect us to sound English? haha I don't know to be honest

How do you respond to negative criticism?
We don't get too much in all honesty, all the criticism we do get is about the way we look about our fringes or whatever. It's ironic how the people say that it's about the music are the ones that turn round and start insulting people based on their appearance. Mind you if it's constructive criticism we'll happilly listen.

What do you consider your biggest accomplishment so far as a band?

Hmm, this is probably just managing to stay together. So many weaker bands will break up after 6 months or something, they'll do a few shows and just split. The thing is with bands is that you have 5 or maybe more members all with different opinions on how things should be done and it really can get a bit nasty. We've had so many people leave and stuff that i'm amazed that we're actually still going and stronger than ever.

Do you guys have any shows coming up?

yes just a couple at the walthamstow standard which is a really good venue. We're gonna hold off gigging for a bit so that we can write loads of new material for our tune coming up in june

Have you played in the States before? If not, would you like to?

no we haven't unfortunately and yes i really really would! the states gets a lot of criticism but I love it there and being able to go over there to play would be awesome

How would you describe your stage presence?

Epic

we understand shows aren't just about the music, but about the spectacle, we flip our guitars and headbang and all sorts, we don't just stand there and look bored

Do you guys go to concerts a lot? If so, who would you like to see/who have you seen recently?

I personally don't go as much as I used to, i think Harvey goes to a lot of hardcore shows. The last band i saw was brand new with thrice supporting. I really love Thrice

Who would you love to tour with?

I'd like to tour with thrice haha, just because they're my favourite band, although i don't know if we'd really fit the bill, but we'd probably fit in with someone more like Architects.

Who would you want to collaborate with?

Probably have Sam Carter from Architects doing guest vocals, i think he's one of the best screamers in the business and has an awesome singing voice too

Where would you want to play in the future?

everywhere and anywhere! love to headline big venues like wembley and also to play in countries like Japan America and Australia

How do you guys find new music to listen to? What have you been listening to a lot lately?

Usually word of mouth, or i look at suggestions on iTunes. I've been listening to a lot of Holly Springs Disaster, a southern rock band from canada haha

What are the best and weirdest gifts you’ve received from fans?

Unfortunately fans very rarely give us gifts :( we'd love some chocolate or something though!

Do you have any pre-show rituals?

Eat fried chicken!

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go and what would you do there?

Probably Japan because it's culture is so different, and play a massive show

If there was a television show about your band, what would it be called?

Our People Versus Yours on the loose haha

http://www.youtube.com/opvyofficial

check that out and see some of the shit we get up to

Does it ever bother you when people try to imitate your accents?

when we play shows far away we're the ones imitating them! haha

If you could have any superpower, what would you choose?

flying.... or maybe invisibility ;)

Fan Submissions:

What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you to sign? - Dublin

nothing too strange, our fans must be boring! we had to sign a page from kerrang once for someone because we were in it, that was more surreal though than weird...

How would you spend your time if you weren't in this band? - Pete Lawnes

I'd be playing xbox. bit of a geek!

Bonus Round:

Favorite:

Movie? Anchorman, 300, watchmen or something more sensitive like forest gump

CD(s)? My favourite album is probably vheiussu by Thrice.

Song to play live? Probably "New Beginings" because it's an awesome song!

TV show? South Park

Website? Cracked.com

Sport? Probably English football

Food? Chips

Quote? "The south will rise again"

This or that:

Plugged in or Acoustic? Plugged In

Summer or Winter? Summer

Calling or Texting? Texting

Albums or Singles? Albums

Behind The Scenes:

What else should we know? We're nice guys and we'd appreciate it if you bought some merch as band makes you super poor www.ourpeopleversusyours.bigcartel.com

Special talents? Steve can play Hand Flute.... it's basically what it sounds like, he uses his hands and blows in it like an instrument. it's mental

Age? I'm 21, Steve is 21, Joe is 18, Harv is 17 and Dan is 18

Pet peeves? people saying we're shit when we're clearly not...

Nicknames? everyone used to call steve stig back in college so i call him that

a lot, i'm not sure why though.

Members Only: In the band, who is

Funniest? Steve, he's the joker

Most creative? Maybe Dan? he's good at drawing as well as a few other things

Most organized? Probably me now and i'm pretty damned disorganised

Biggest flirt? Probably Steve again, Joe used to be quite bad but he has a girlfriend now haha

Strongest? That one will have to go to me ;)

Thanks again to James & the rest of Our People Versus Yours :)

www.ourpeopleversusyours.bigcartel.com
facebook.com/ourpeopleversusyours
myspace.com/ourpeopleversusyours
youtube.com/opvyofficial
twitter.com/opvy

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