Tag Archives: Metal

My 2010 SXSW Promise.

16 March, 2009 Brian Mc Leave a comment

This is a promise that this time next year I will be in Austin, TX engaging in some 2010 SXSW action. I will skip all other festivals next year to ensure this happens.

I am missing out on so many good shows this week it makes me want to cry. Punk rock, hip hop, metal, country…

Just check out the SXSW schedule. There is enough live music to last me for the whole year.

Aside from the live music there will be film and other interactive entertainment not to mention a handful of awesome friends who live there. For more info check out the SXSW official website.

So yes, 2010 will be a SXSW year. Who is joining me? Anyone going this year? I’d love to hear about your experiences.

To all the awesome record labels and marketing companies I deal with thank you so much for the many invites. I promise you I will take you up on those offers next year.

Live Shows

And So It Starts…

17 February, 2009 Brian Mc 1 Comment

Just started getting wind of what artists are planning 2009 tours. Some of the bands look to continue their success while others just have me scratching my head.

Here are some tours / festivals that I read about recently:

NIN touring with Jane’s Addiction
-This show best hit Cleveland if they know what is good for them… Having seen NIN last summer and looking forward to seeing them at Bonnaroo I think my 2009 would be complete if I were to see them even one more time live. According to Billboard.com, Trent Reznor confirmed that NIN would be taking a long break. Confirming this was a blog from Trent Reznor on NIN.com stating “I’ve been thinking for some time now it’s time to make NIN disappear for a while”. This tour is not NIN alone and will equally be as amazing thanks to Jane’s Addicition trying to regroup and perform. We shall see the outcome of this, all I can think of is how good of an idea is it having two of the most cherished bands of my time take stage.

Limp Bizkit Reuniting For A Tour
-Seriously? Is this a good idea? Perhaps. The band was very successful at the end of the 1990’s but soon fell apart. The Nu-Metal scene just was not meant to continue but I think it is great that the original line-up plans on gathering once again to perform. Does this mean new material? We shall see.

Fleetwood Mac
-I admit, I would totally go to this…if I could afford a ticket.

Rock On The Range – Columbus, OH
-This weekend event in Columbus looks like a true winner for all the metal fans. Slipknot, Motley Crue, Alice In Chains, Avenged Sevenfold and Korn share the excitement for many as these bands plus a handfull more play the weekend of May 16-17th at the Columbus Crew stadium. Having never seen AIC before I am highly considering this show…Matt?

Eric Clapton / Steve Winwood
-Former Blind Faith members decide to tour the US. Both previously played together at Madison Square Garden about a year ago. They are coming through Ohio, but no way will I dish out that kind of money for tickets. It is not that important to me. Both are amazing artists and I have respect for both but the wallet kind of stops me there.

No Doubt
-Please Gwin, please never do that solo crap again… I am really happy to see this band get out and tour again. I am not a huge fan, but I do appreciate their earlier material.

Blink 182
-These pop punkers announced just weeks ago that they were a band again and that means they will be going on the road soon.

Rancid
-They are putting the finishing touches up on their next release and will be hitting the road in support of it. I am very excited to see these guys live again.

The Greatful Dead
-This will be the bands first tour in 4 years. Mind you it is not the original Dead but it’ll do for all the hippies who need something to do this summer.

Phish
-Speaking of hippies, Phish is scheduled to tour in 2009 as well. I need to stop being a jerk…hippies have feelings too. I am sure I will check Phish out at Bonnaroo for a little bit just so I can say that I did.

***More will be added as I find out***

There are many other bands taking aim at touring this year but the previous were ones I just read about. I am still curious on what band will get back together this summer at one of the festivals like Cochella or the Virgin Mobile Festival. I would love to see Soundgarden reunite or even Faith No More play some shows… That would be insane.

There is one band I really hope to see this summer. They have been through a lot as one of their own was in a horrible accident. I speak of The Deftones. Recently the band decided to play some shows even though their original bassist can not be there with them. A statement was released on the band’s website in regards on how the band decided to play out again: “Chi always wanted to keep working and never slow down, which is why we feel confident in returning to the stage at Bamboozle in April. Chi would want it, and we want to make sure we’re keeping his legacy alive.”

With a Bonnaroo trip already planned this summer, I am wondering what other live shows I will be attending this year. I will of course be sure to share all my experiences with you all. I am sure I will stop at the Vans Warped Tour once again as I always enjoy myself there and may actually take up ((RAD))am’s offer on some Blossom shows.

Curious though… What shows are you all looking forward to? Are there any other great acts touring that I might have missed??? Let me know!

90's, Grunge, Metal, Music, Music Video, Post-Hardcore, Rock, Times Of Yore

Times Of Yore: Stompbox – Stress

9 October, 2008 Brian Mc 16 Comments

So this is my first of a series of posts about bands from the past or as I like to call it “Times Of Yore”. Recently I have been digging deep into my collection and found some real great acts from the past and have decided that people need to know about them or at least need to be reminded of their existence. I already have a few in mind and will continue to look. Most of the bands I have discovered were from the 90’s when I was buying everything I could get my hands on.

So let’s kick thinks off shall we?

In the day and age when Soundgarden was more grunge metal than adult contemporary and Helmet was still united there was a band that I found at Disc Den called Stompbox. The CD was called Stress and it might have been the best blind purchase I ever made in 1994.

Already being a huge fan of Helmet, this band was right up my alley. They had a port-hardcore grunge sound that may have been replicated by many bands at the time, but they sounded so good with their hard striking chords and heavy riffs. The lead singer’s voice, sounding like Page Hamilton (Helmet) mixed with Neil Fallon (Clutch),was even tolerable throughout the entire CD. It’s too bad that the band did not continue after their first release.

Not much can be found on the internet about why they disbanded. Formed in 1991 the band hailed from Boston. From what I have gathered they were picked up Sony/Columbia and then dropped after the release. They just didn’t catch on like other bands did and it is a shame.

The lead singer of the band went on to pursue other projects and the remaining members stayed together and changed their band name to Slower (which I am still looking for). I am still trying to confirm this, but there is a possibility that some of the members even helped out The Blue Man Group and even Juliana Hatfield. I can not find any proof though…

There is no band website, no Wiki even. There are some reviews out there from fans and everything is thumbs up. I just wish I could find out a little more about what the members have been up to these days.

I do remember this band having a lot of promotional material for a debut release. There were posters and fliers all over the place after I bought the CD. I was also handed a couple of sampler cassettes to give out to my friends as well as a square 2 song record…and I still am kicking myself for doing whatever I did with it. I wonder if the over-the-top-promotion resulted in this band’s dismay. I know that kind of happened to Sponge and they were out around the same time as Stompbox….hmmmm….

It’s sad nothing else ever came from Stompbox. You look at bands like STP and Soundgarden who got their start around the same time and look at how they have progressed. I can only wonder what would have happened to Stompbox if they would have continued.

This was one band I never got to see live during their heyday. Luckily YouTube exists.

The CD is long out of print but you can find it for $5.00 or less at a used music shop if you look hard enough. I myself saw quite a few come in to The Exchange when I happily worked here (sarcasm at it’s finest). It is worth dishing out the cash if you are looking to hear a straight forward rock album.

Here’s a couple of videos I found of the band. Boy do these bring back memories.

Music, Screamo

United Nations to rock off your face…

28 August, 2008 Brian Mc 2 Comments

It’s rare that I see something on MySpace that actually gets me excited. Ok, ok… I get excited when there are new bulletins that I can fill out and let mindless readers know what color boxers I am wearing and if my parents and I ever fight over curfew….doesn’t everyone?

Anyways…

I logged on to the “Place For Friends” website yesterday and saw something on the home page about a band called United Nations. I became interested mainly because I got a kick out of the picture of the band and laughed at how all members were all wearing Ronald Regan masks. I became more interested at the sarcastic description of the band that said that the members of the band have nothing to do with Glassjaw, Converge, or Thursday. That to me read: Awesome! This band contains members of 3 bands I adore…

I did a little Wikipedia‘n and discovered that the band right now is pretty much a secret due to contract obligations but the band, rather grindcore screamo (you are right Adam and Ram, no grindcore at all…) supergroup, will be putting out their debut album on 09/09/08 on Eyeball Records (who has previously released material by Thursday…). Better yet the band has decided to stream their entire debut on MySpace. You can check that out HERE.

I sampled a few of the songs and all I can say is that this band is brutal. The sounds of Thursday + Converge = Great Idea. For all you fans of loud heavy screaming metal but have a soft spot for screamo, this album will be for you. This album is going to be the next big thing.

To make matters even funnier, head over to the United Nations official website. It is a parody of the UN website full of satire and witty links. I laughed out loud at the FAQ‘s that have serious questions and humorous answers relating the the United Nations band and not the so-called government association based upon cooperation (or so they say).

I have not really been excited about an upcoming release all summer and I am glad something has finally sparked my attention. I expect big things from this band and I know the hype is going to be worth it…now if they will only swing though my town so they can rock my face off.

If you are like me and want to pre-order their debut album, click the link below…

Music

Metallica releases a new single….

22 August, 2008 Brian Mc 1 Comment

I finally submerged to reality and listened to Metallica‘s new release “The Day That Never Comes” their first single from the upcoming Rick Rubin produced Death Magnetic. I sampled it on my way to work this afternoon thanks to Sirius radio’s Hard Attack and for the most part liked what I heard. When I came home I went to Metallica’s website to sample it again. The song was just about 8 minutes and honestly all I could think of is that the song could have been sped up just a tad and it might have sounded even better. It does not sound like anything from St. Anger (thankfully) but does not necessarily go all the way back to their roots. It’s got a good sound to it especially for a band that has been around for so long.

I guess I’ll have to wait until 09/12/2008 when the CD hits stores and will also be legally available to download to hear some more. I admit, I am kind of excited. I just hope I am not disappointed…..

For more info including links to hear the song and read the lyrics check out Blabbermouth.net.