Wednesday 19 July 2017

Dashboard Confessional & The All-American Rejects Cover Each Other to Commemorate Tour


Photo Credit: David Bean

Less than a week ago, DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL and THE ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS set out on a summer-long adventure. To commemorate the tour, both bands covered each other. Dashboard Confessional chose “Move Along” and The All-American Rejects settled on “Hands Down”. (Dates Below)

“When covering a song, we try to adhere as closely as we can to the most recognizable earmarks,” explains Chris Carrabba. “Most importantly the melody. The fun comes in the choices the band can make around those earmarks. We had a blast making ‘Move Along’ ours. The song has so much color and power it was easy to feel inspired by it.”

Tyson Ritter adds, “’Hands Down’ is an open-hearted story of young love. In the original recording, the vocal performance is something that carries you through that tale of pure discovery. Vocally, my immediate intention was to play the opposite. For the musical canvas, we wanted to take all the candy away from this song and feed it nothing but opiates, leaving you feeling as if the instrumentation itself was the nerves the lyrics were expressing.”


Photo Credit: Eliot Lee Hazel

After the release of his debut album 2000’s Swiss Army Romance, Dashboard Confessional, the solo moniker for Chris Carrabba gained the loyalty of fans through his honest heartfelt lyrics. The following year, Carrabba entered the studio to record The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most, the follow-up to their critically acclaimed debut. As a result of the sudden success of his second solo effort, Dashboard Confessional exploded and was everywhere from MTV to VH1 to MTV2 to magazine covers (Spin, Alternative Press, Guitar World Acoustic). Fans even copied Carrabba’s style down to his haircut.

By 2002 three other musicians had joined the band and Carrabba was asked to perform on MTV Unplugged and the subsequent live release marked the first time that many of the songs were recorded with a full band. Later that year, the band’s first breakout single “Screaming Infidelities” off of The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most won the MTV2 Award at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards. Their third studio album A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar peaked at #2 on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums chart and was certified gold by RIAA. The band went on to release three more albums (Dusk and Summer, The Shade of Poison Trees, Alter the Ending) over the next six years. To date, Dashboard Confessional has three RIAA certified gold-selling albums (Swiss Army Romance, The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most, A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar) and has had numerous songs featured on TV (Cougar Town, One Tree Hill, Scrubs, All My Children, Laguna Beach, NCIS, Cold Case, Clone High) and in movies (Shrek 2, Spider-Man 2, Made of Honor, Sydney White).

Known for stadium-size sing-alongs steeped in pop panache and rock ‘n’ roll danger, cheeky wit, and raucous concerts that border on religious experiences, The All-American Rejects confidently waltz against the grain. Their 2017 EP and fifth full-length album continue a near two-decade tradition of ballsy, brash, and bold pop rock anthems. The band first shook up the scene with their 2003 platinum-selling self-titled debut. Its double-platinum 2005 follow-up Move Along spawned the platinum smash “Dirty Little Secret,” while 2008’s gold-certified When The World Comes Down yielded their biggest hit to date: the quadruple-platinum “Gives You Hell.” In total, sales have exceeded 10 million worldwide as Billboard ranked them on its Hot 100 Artists of the 2000s list and Billboard 200 Artists of the Decade list. Most recently, Kids In The Street notched acclaim from Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, USA Today, and more. It’s only the beginning though…

Dashboard Confessional is Chris Carrabba (vocals, guitar), Scott Schoenbeck (bass), Armon Jay (guitar, keys), Ben Homola (drums).

The All-American Rejects is Tyson Ritter (lead vocalist, bassist), Nick Wheeler (lead guitarist, backing vocals), Mike Kennerty (rhythm guitarist, backing vocalist) and Chris Gaylor (drums).

# The Maine * The Social Animals % Dashboard Confessional and The All-American Rejects:

Jul 18 Sandy City Amphitheater * Sandy, UT Jul 21 Myth * St. Paul, MN Jul 22 Stir Cove at Harrah’s Casino * Council Bluffs, IA Jul 23 The Pageant * St. Louis, MO Jul 25 Express Live! # Columbus, OH Jul 26 Fillmore Detroit # Detroit, MI Jul 29 Tag’s Summer Stage # Big Flats, NY Jul 30 Sands Event Center # Bethlehem, PA Aug 03 Central Park Summer Stage # New York, NY Aug 04 Foxwoods Resort Casino # Mashantucket, CT Aug 05 Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion # Gilford, NH Aug 06 Blue Hills Bank Pavilion # Boston, MA Aug 08 Stage AE # Pittsburgh, PA Aug 09 Festival Pier # Philadelphia, PA Aug 10 Wolf Trap # Vienna, VA Aug 12 Ascend Amphitheater # Nashville, TN Aug 13 Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amp. # Charlotte, NC Aug 15 Ravinia Festival % Highland Park, IL

Tuesday 18 July 2017

Dayseeker Spinefarm debut "Dreaming Is Sinking | Waking Is Rising" released July 14th



Southern California's DAYSEEKER released their Spinefarm debut Dreaming Is Sinking /// Waking Is Rising on July 14.

It sounds like the premise of a dramatic thriller series on NETFLIX. A man avenges the unspeakable crimes committed against his wife only to be bludgeoned into a coma. Locked in a vegetative state, changes erupt throughout his world, spanning the dissolution of his marriage and the death of his estranged mother. While his hospital bed doubles as a front row seat to the chaos, questions arise… Is any of this happening? Is it real? What does it mean?

Some of the answers may or may not be encoded within the 12 tracks comprising Dayseeker’s 2017 conceptual third full-length album, Dreaming Is Sinking /// Waking Is Rising [Spinefarm]. Maintaining an inimitable and infectious intensity, the music represents a marked evolution for the Orange County group—Rory Rodriguez [vocals], Shawn Yates [guitar], Gino Sgambelluri [guitar], Ramone Valerio [bass], and Mike Karle [drums]. Since 2012, the group has quietly sent shockwaves throughout the scene. Their 2015 second full-length album, Origin, bowed in the Top 20 of Billboard’s Heatseekers Chart. Fan favorite “Hello” cracked 536K Spotify streams as “The Earth Will Turn” and “Jealous” each surpassed the 265K-mark. Simultaneously, they toured with the likes of Hawthorne Heights and Silent Planet in addition to receiving acclaim from New Noise Magazine, Ultimate Guitar, Sputnik Music, and more.

However, the boys wanted to collectively push the envelope for album number three. “I had always wanted to do a full concept album,” exclaims Rory. “In the past, our records were mainly based on personal experiences. I spoke on things I went through with my parents, breakups, and losing loves ones. This time, I wanted to stray from that path and write a semi-fictional story.”

The DNA of this story is an amalgam of the coma suffered by a friend of Rory’s ex-girlfriend, Alex Garland’s book The Coma, and Boys Night Out’s 2005 concept record Trainwreck—a personal favorite of the frontman. He carefully pieced together these inspirations into one bold body of work. Producer Josh Schroeder [King 810, The Plot In You, Battlecross] encouraged the narrative to unfold musically. “Josh really respected the concept,” Rory goes on. “He helped us add some flare and personality to round out the entire vision. Plus, he made it sound huge!”

The first single “Vultures” snaps from a breathy verse into an onslaught of guitars and drums. It hinges on a stop-and-start groove as Rory strangles a scream from raw emotion before slipping into a hypnotic croon, “Can you see yourself for who you really are?” “A girl I was very close with opened up to me about an experience where she got drunk and was taken advantage at a party,” he sighs. “I felt very protective over her. I had such deep-rooted negative feelings towards this guy. She never found out who it was either. It’s touchy, but it fits into the overall concept. I don’t think there are many musicians out there addressing this issue. Hopefully, the song can comfort anyone going through something that terrible.”

Elsewhere, “Sleep in the Sea pt. II” [feat. Garrett Russell of Silent Planet] swings like a wrecking ball from potent and powerful pummeling into a vicious vocal volley. “As far as the story goes, the guy wakes up and finds out his wife left him for another man,” the singer goes on. “At first he’s resentful, but he realizes she gave up because of his flaws. He’s the anchor metaphorically drowning her.”

The record ebbs and flows between moments of pensive pondering and sonic neck-snapping. “Six Feet Under” examines Rory’s strained relationship with his mother within the framework of the narrative, and the epic conclusion “Waking Is Rising” haunts and hypnotizes all at once. In the end, Dayseeker fortify their connection with listeners even further on Dreaming Is Sinking /// Waking Is Rising.

“When people hear this, I hope it inspires them,” Rory leaves off. “It would be amazing if they were encouraged to create something for themselves because of it.”

STARSAILOR Announce New Single ‘LISTEN TO YOUR HEART’ from the New Album "ALL THIS LIFE"



British quartet STARSAILOR have announced their brand new album All This Life, set for both physical and digital release on September 1, 2017 via Cooking Vinyl.

‘Listen To Your Heart’ is the opening track from the album. Lead singer & guitarist James Walsh describes it as, “an energetic, emotional song. I think in doing what we do, you have to be emotion and instinct lead. If every decision was sensible, practical and mulled over, we'd never have done anything or got anywhere. It’s not always easy, so you have to keep reminding yourself.”

Of the album and recording process, Walsh says; “Recording the album was an intense and rewarding experience and we're excited to get it out there. There's a good mix of the aspects of the band people know and love, and a few changes in direction.”

Their fifth studio album – and first since 2009 – All This Life finds Starsailor re-energized and in outstanding form. They played to an ecstatic crowd in a packed Big Top Stage at this year’s Isle Of Wight Festival and debuted a new track from the forthcoming album.

‘ALL THIS LIFE’ TRACK LISTING: 1. Listen To Your Heart 2. All This Life 3. Take A Little Time 4. Caught In The Middle 5. Sunday Best 6. Blood 7. Best Of Me 8. Break The Cycle 9. Fallout 10. FIA (F**k It All) 11. No One Else

Monday 17 July 2017

ALTER BRIDGE ANNOUNCES "THE LAST HERO" TOUR ACROSS EUROPE



ALTER BRIDGE just recently announced their special Royal Albert Hall shows for early October, which sold out extremely fast, followed by additional UK and Ireland shows subsequently. Due to the great demand to get them back to Europe's mainland as well, the band now can proudly announce "The Last Hero" tour all across Europe! Starting in wonderful Paris at the Elysee Montmartre, the tour leads ALTER BRIDGE from France to the Netherlands, from Germany over Austria to Poland, Hungary, Switzerland all the way down to sunny Spain and Portugal, where they also ended their last tour just a couple of days ago! In case you saw ALTER BRIDGE live on this past tour run or somewhere on the Summer festivals: don't think they won't add anything new to the set list! Quite the contrary! They will play a totally different set that differs very much to the shows they recently played over the Summer! So don't miss out on another amazing live experience with these incredibly talented musicians and get your tickets NOW!

ALTER BRIDGE - "The Last Hero" Tour: Mon 02.10.17 UK - London / Royal Albert Hall - SOLD OUT Tue 03.10.17UK - London / Royal Albert Hall - SOLD OUT Thu 05.10.17 UK - Edinburgh / Usher Hall Sat 07.10.17 IE - Dublin / Olympia Sun 08.10.17 UK - Belfast / Ulster Hall Tue 10.10.17 FR - Paris / Elysee Montmartre Wed 11.10.17 NL - Groningen / Oosterpoort Thu 12.10.17 DE - Stuttgart / Porsche Arena Sun 15.10.17 DE - Hannover / Swiss Life Hall Mon 16.10.17 DE - Oberhausen / Turbinenhalle Wed 18.10.17 AT - Vienna / Gasometer Fri 20.10.17 PL - Warsaw / Progresja Sun 22.10.17 HU - Budapest / Sport Arena Tue 24.10.17 CH - Zurich / Samsung Hall Thu 26.10.17 ES - Barcelona / Razzmatazz 1 Fri 27.10.17 ES - Madrid / La Riviera Sun 29.10.17 PT - Lisbon / Coliseu

ALTER BRIDGE also has a new live album and rarities collection called "Live at the O2 Arena + Rarities" scheduled for September 8, which captures one of the biggest moments of the band's career, when they played their monumental show at London's famous O2 Arena on November 24th, 2016. Listen to the band tear through hits like "Farther Than The Sun", "Show Me A Leader", "Rise Today", and ALTER BRIDGE's masterpiece "Isolation", showcasing a band on the top of their game. Other highlights include the Tremonti sung "Waters Rising", the acoustic-driven "Watch Over You" and their mighty signature anthem "Blackbird".

In addition, this latest release contains an exclusive full-length "Rarities"-CD that will give every collector cause for rejoice. The CD features the never-before released tracks "Cruel Sun" and "Solace" that were recorded during the One Day Remains sessions. The song "Breathe" from those same sessions was released as a bonus track exclusively for Best Buy on The Last Hero. These tracks join seven other songs that have only been released in Japan until this collection.

This incredible collection of ALTER BRIDGE gems will be released in different formats! In addition to the regular 3 CD audio version, you can go for the ultimate fan experience and get one of the limited deluxe versions which also include an exclusive ALTER BRIDGE documentary with plenty of interviews with the band, their crew and family, giving you an amazing glimpse behind the scenes of this legendary show at London's O2 arena!