Hey!! Welcome back to another Duane’s Pit Stop. I do hope that every one here in the States had a wonderful Holiday. As for this week in the Pit Stop, we have some great tours coming to your neck of the woods as well as plenty of new releases. Also, I wanted to take the time to respond to Ariel Washington from Salt Lake City, Utah who says that people like me are mean to the once self proclaimed King of Pop (you all know who I mean.) Now Now Missy, I have never used the power of the internet to criticize the white gloved white man but I will dedicate this week's theme strictly to you and the plastic man with his hand in his pocket. “Thank you Ariel”, you smooth criminal you. Also, I want to take the time to say thanks for the many CDs and mini EPs that have been sent to me for reviews. I should be through with them by next week and have them up on our starting page of MusicTAP. And for the many readers who were wondering why Duane’s Pit Stop didn’t post last week, well, that bastard Editor of MusicTAP, Matt Rowe thought stuffing his face with pork rines and pig's feet and drinking cheap booze was more important. Actually, that inbred Albino Pinhead Bastard told all his staff to take the week off, so there. And with that final note let's get to the news.
Q and Not U - Have finished a busy year of touring and are taking December off to work on new songs. They plan to get into the studio to record a new album sometime early next year and are currently making plans to tour Europe, the states and South Africa in 2004.
Antelope - Featuring Justin from El Guapo and Mike and Bee from Vertebrates, have recorded two songs with Ian at Inner Ear Studios which will be released by Dischord on a CD single and limited edition 7" in early February 2004. Antelope also have a fine CD/EP released as a joint venture between Dischord and their own label, Bug Records, available from this site and in stores.
Beauty Pill - Have finished their new album, "The Unsustainable Lifestyle." The album is scheduled to come out in the US on March 15, 2004. In the meantime the band will play some shows around DC and plan to tour regionally in the US once the record comes out.
Black Eyes - After their very successful US tour with Q and Not U the Black Eyes headed to Europe for their first overseas tour (dates are listed here ). The band will be in Europe until mid December and then will get some much-needed rest.
El Guapo - Recently returned from their second European tour. The band was very positive upon their return, reporting very good shows, especially in Italy. Never ones to rest on their laurels El Guapo are now headed out for more US shows with Xui Xui and Ted Leo. Dates are posted on the tour page.
Lungfish - Are playing two shows in Chicago in December, one all ages and one not. We are still receiving tons of positive feedback, both for their live shows and for their new album, "Love is Love."
The Deep Six - Amanda MacKaye, Ryan Nelson and Todd McDonald (all formerly of Jury Rig) have joined with ex-Discount drummer Bill Nesper to form The Deep Six. They have recorded with Ian and Don at Inner Ear and will release a single early next year.
Measles Mumps Rubella - Will have a new CD-EP/12" available on Troubleman Records in January.
French Toast - Have returned from marathon touring both with the Red Hot Chili Peppers (!) and with Q and Not U and Black Eyes. Their new single "Hatred Mace" / "For Sylvia" is available on Arrest Records.
The Black Sea - (Shelby and Jason from Frodus, Joe from Fugazi) have changed their name due to trademark issues. They are now known as Decahedron. Decahedron is finished with their full-length and it is due out in the Spring.
Lovitt - Has released a very cool DVD, "Lovitt Transmissions Vol.1," which features over 2 hours of amazing live footage, interviews with Lovitt bands and goofy stuff from Engine Down, The Rah Bras, Sleepytime Trio, Four Hundred Years, Bats & Mice, Fin Fang Foom and more. A trailer is on the Lovitt website.
Ben Davis - Sleepytime Trio, Bats & Mice, Milemarker has a new CD, "Aided & Abetted," on Lovitt Records which features a large cast of guest appearances from his affiliated band members past and present. The CD includes a comprehensive multi media section of the recording process and MP3 demos of some of the songs. Ben will be playing shows throughout the fall. The release date is November 10th.
Chris Thomson (ex- Monorchid, Skull Kontrol, Circus Lupus) has a new band called Red Eyed Legends. They are on GSL and will be playing around here and there. Check them out at: http://www.goldstandardlabs.com/red_eyed_legends/redeyedlegends.html
Dismemberment - Plan have broken up and released a farewell album, "A People's History of the Dismemberment Plan" (Desoto) of remixes done exclusively by fans and friends of the band from raw tracks made available online. Despite their break up The Plan members continue to produce-- Travis Morrison has already announced plans for a solo record and Eric Axelson is playing with ex-Promise Ring members in their new band, Maritime.
The Starting Line Invites You In - The new acoustic EP from Drive-Thru's The Starting Line entitled Make Yourself At Home can be streamed in its entirety right here, courtesy of the folks at radiotakeover.com.
NPR Covers Fat Wreck vs. The RIAA - National Public Radio has done a piece on independent labels being listed on the RIAA's affiliate list, despite not being members. Both, (Fat) Erin and Matt Jacobsen are quoted several times based on the difficulties Fat Wreck and Relapse (who was just taken off the list this month) had when they found that they were listed on the RIAA's website. This raise a question; how many of your favorite labels are listed on the RIAA's list, and how many of those label aren't actually members?
Matt Davis Memorial Shows In The Works - On December 16th, the late Matt Davis of Ten Grand would have been 27. In honor of his birthday, Joel Anderson, also of Ten Grand, is setting up many shows across the country, which will donate all proceeds to the Davis family. Currently there are shows scheduled in California, Iowa, Kansas, Florida, and Chicago featuring bands like Sonic You and Preacher Gone to Texas. If you are interested in setting up a show on the 16th of December, visit Ten Grand's Website.
Count The Stars Break-ups - You've probably heard rumors floating around that Count the Stars have broken up. Well they aren't rumors any more folks. A representative over at Victory Records sent out a personal email from their press department today that states that they are no longer. They were on tour with The Early November, Copeland, and Hidden in Plain View, but as you can see from the quote below they have been replaced on the tour and will be greatly missed. Jeff from The Early November had this to say, "I have some very sad news. Our best friends in Count The Stars have broken up and will no longer be playing on the rest of this tour. To fill the spot we've added Finding Westerly to the tour. They'll be opening followed by Hidden in Plain View, Copeland, and then us. R.I.P. Count The Stars, we love you guys."
Huge Update From The Get Up Kids - Matt from The Get Up Kids writes: Rob and Ed and I are at The Lodge getting this whole EP thing together. The “Wouldn’t Believe It” CDEP should be coming out mid January. I don’t think that an actual date has been set. It’s going to be super cheap at your local record store and hopefully we’ll have a lot of it online, if not the whole thing. All of the songs on the EP are previously unreleased. As of today here’s what’s on the EP:
1. Wouldn’t Believe It (From “Guilt Show”)
2. Martyr Me (Also from “Guilt Show”)
3. Walking On A Wire (Inference Mix)
4. Overdue (Demonstration Recording)
5. I’ll Catch You (Acoustic)
The Inference Mix of Walking On A Wire is what we are working on right now. It’s an updated version of the track from the record produced by Ed Rose. The demonstration recording of “Overdue” was produced in 2000 at Red House (now The Black Lodge) by Ed Rose. The acoustic version of “Ill Catch You” is a really cool stripped down version of the song that I recorded at my house and Ed mixed at The Lodge. There is talk of putting the video for “Stay Gone” on the CD because it was never released in the US. I don’t have confirmation on that one though.
The US tour has been routed and is getting confirmed as we speak. It starts March 1st and goes through April 4th. The tour covers basically the whole US in a really short period of time. This isn’t the tour where we are going to start doing multiple nights in some towns. That’s the tour in the fall. We’re trying hard to get the tickets on sale for these show by the end of the year. Check here for updates. We’re playing some smaller venues this tour so be sure to get tickets early. I don’t who is going out with us yet but rest assured I will tell you as soon as I know.
Thanks,
Matt
The G.U.K.
Senses Fail Video Online - The Senses Fails video for "The Free Fall Without a Parachute" is up in the media section. Check it out here.
Atreyu Announce Christmas Show, Preview "The Curse" - Atreyu are headlining a show at the Showcase Theatre in Corona that will be the metal event of the holiday season! Mark your calendars for December 27th and dust off your earplugs, as Atreyu has invited their friends; HIMSA, To See You Broken, Nightfall and Sacrificial Slaughter will also play. Atreyu will be debuting new songs from the upcoming album, "The Curse," which hits the streets on June 15, 2004. By the end of the night, the club may be reduced to a pile of rubble, but it will be worth it for fans of hardcore and metal. The show is sponsored by Rockett Clothing, who will be selling a new, limited edition Atreyu shirt that night.
AFI On Hard Rock Live - AFI will play on Hard Rock Live today (Wednesday 8p.m. ET) MTV is bringing you the hottest concerts this summer from Orlando Florida's Hard Rock Live. Check it out here.
NH-N Records With Good Riddance Cover Ups - The "Cover Ups" album from Good Riddance is finally out and available. You can easily get it here www.nh-n.com Also NH-N Records are extremely proud to announce that Dependent from Eindhoven have joined the nh-n Familia, and they plan their release on a split with Coffee Shower for late Feb 04 so, Check out their website here www.dependentpunkrock.com and hear their song "Searching".
Y-100 Sonic Sessions Vol. 7 Compilation - New Found Glory are featured on Philadelphia's Y-100 Sonic Sessions Vol. 7 CD, which was released on November 25th. The 16-song album features a live version of "Head On Collision," which was recorded on May 2, 2003, in the Backstage Dressing Room at the First Union Spectrum in Philadelphia, PA. In other NFG news you can expect the new Found Glory record to hit stores in April.
Y-100 Sonic Sessions Vol. 7 CD - Track Listing:
Just Because - Jane's Addiction
Go To Sleep - Radiohead
Take It Or Leave It - The Strokes
The Scientist - Coldplay
Bring Me To Life - Evanescence
No One Knows - Queens of The Stone Age
Rock You - The Roots
The Red - Chevelle
The Anthem - Good Charlotte
Fine Again - Seether
Bandages - Hot Hot Heat
Best of Me - The Starting Line
Burrito - Pete Yorn
Head On Collision - New Found Glory
Always - Saliva
In This Diary - The Ataris
The Original Artwork on the CD Cover was done by Steve Bays from Hot Hot Heat.
Vans/Epitaph Triple Threat Contest - We have teamed-up with Vans to put on some insane contests for Pennywise, the Bouncing Souls and Atmosphere. We’re giving away skate decks, shoes, CDs, DVDs and a lot more, so hit this link and enter these contests today because they are filling up fast.
Error Side Project - Another new CD on the horizon is the Error side project that includes Brett Gurewitz (Bad Religion), Atticus Ross (Nine Inch Nails), Leopold Ross and Greg Puciato (Dillinger Escape Plan). How’s that for a line-up? This is intense, blaring, blazing, crushing, slashing, burning, hardcore electronic-type music and I bet when you hear it…you’ll agree that it is amazing. MP3 soon to come, I promise.
The Special Goodness - This band is made up of Pat Wilson (Weezer) and Atom Willard (Rocket From The Crypt/Offspring) and their album “Land, Air, Sea” will also be out on January 20th. Seriously, this is catchy as hell and well worth checking out. We’ll have an MP3 up from them next week too, so sit tight.
The Lost Patrol - This is a new release that will be out on January 20th and I just wanted to make sure you knew the deal about this album. It’s a solo project by Dennis of The (International) Noise Conspiracy/Refused and it is extremely good. This CD really showcases his writing abilities and how he can hold his own any time, any where. We have an MP3 coming up for this next week, so stay tuned.
Death By Stereo - The band just returned from Europe and they had a pretty good time. The tour went well and they even got into a few fights; including one in the airport with a pack of Turkish guys right before coming home. You can read about all of the details on the official DBS website.
Matchbook Romance - The band launched their online web store last week, and it’s pretty damn cool looking. They are selling t-shirts, CDs, buttons and everything else, so hit the link if you are a Matchbook Romance fan that wants to score some fairly priced merchandise.
Scatter The Ashes - Scatter The Ashes have improved their website and have added a new message board so you can go and praise them, cuss them out, hit on them or threaten them…whatever floats your boat. They also have some photos and other stuff posted for you to check out; get to know these guys because they just might become one of you favorite bands very soon. See it all at this link.
You can download an MP3 for these guys already on their Epitaph title page.
From First To Last - You know these guys are a part of the team here at Epitaph, but did you know that their motto is “Hurting ourselves on stage since 2002?” Well it’s true and their Guitarist Travis has proven it by breaking both of his arms at once. Now that’s pretty cool/hardcore/neat. Hit the link to checkout the news piece on their official website.
Checkout an MP3 from these guys on their Epitaph title page, located below.
Dropkick Murphys - The band is headed to Europe. These guys will be tearing up the continent across the pond in February and March of 2004 and all of the dates have been posted on their official website.
Joe Strummer - The new “Redemption Song” video has received a huge response from nearly everyone and we wanted to thank you all for taking the time to check it out. We also want to thank the good folks at MTV2 for donating the mural of Joe for the video shoot. If you have yet to see this video, hit the link and take a look…it’s a classic.
If you would like to download an MP3 for the song “Coma Girl,” you can do so on the “Streetcore” album page.
The Horrorpops - Their new album “Hell Yeah.” is due out on February 10th, but we have the first video from it up for you to see now. It is a live piece for the song “Ghouls” and it is a great introduction to what this band is all about. Check it out at this link.
That’s going to do it for this week's Duane’s Pit Stop. I do wish everyone the best weekend. We'll talk to you soon. Oh, by the way, the Inbred Bastard Editor Matt Rowe is thinking about shutting down MusicTAP entirely next month for good. Give him hell and email the sniveling pinhead left handed Barbra Streisand loving hippie. Peace and drink Beer.
