A HUGE something that made me smile.

I'm pretty sure every time I do one of these somethings that made me smile, at least 95% of the time, it's something to do with Augustana. It has been way too long (about a year and a half) since I saw this band play last but the time they are putting into the studio right now is starting to be previewed, and it will be worth it to wait just a little bit more to see them play.

They just released two tour diary videos from their tour this past summer (they haven't been on the road since..)while they were on the traveling circus tour with the Counting Crows and Michael Franti & Spearhead and listen carefully since they preview a few of the songs that will be on the new album they are putting the finishing touches on right now! To think that this band was horribly close to breaking up just a short three years ago is crazy to think about with all of this new material coming out, but check it out for yourself!

The first music video for Eye Alaska- "Walk Like A Gentleman"

Walk like a gentleman and curse like a wave, sings Brandon Wronski as the front man for a band that I had the chance to sit down with at one of the last few dates of the PacSun tour and since that interview, I have been listening to their music tons.
Listening to their music on the album is nothing in comparison to a live show from the band. I was sold from the first chorus and luckily the rest of the country is learning how talented this band truly is. They just released their debut music video for their first album 'Genesis Underground' which can be found below!

I love growing in what I do with the bands I interview, to see them grow and gain a much larger fan base is a great feeling and I know this band in particular is going to go far!

Behind 'The Only Exception'

I'm pretty sure I'm not always this pop rock cheerleader but alike a lot of music listeners, I am a big fan of a ballad coming from most of the time overrated Paramore 'The Only Exception'. You can't deny the strength of lead vocalist Haley William's voice and it really shines in this video and song. Here is the behind the scene footage for the video:

Cute Is What We Aim For..are you coming back?

The story still hasn't been really developed but we'll keep you updated here, you know...considering I used to be in love with the band. A Cute Is What We Aim For show has just been announced in Pittsburgh and The Friday Night Boys and The Bigger Lights will be opening!

Once we hear more about this show, we'll definitely keep you in the loop. Could it lead to touring? Reuniting? It's only been five months or so since they went on hiatus...

New Tour for This Providence!

Hey there lovelies!
Thanks for reading everything that's been going up lately, so much to come!

I just wanted to let you know about a new tour coming up that features a band I've interviewed with The Audition. Check it out!

Meet Sing It Loud!

If you went to the Warped Tour this year, or the Cheap Date tour, or are going to the new Motion City Soundtrack tour, then you probably have heard of this next band, whew! Pretty much attacking the road these last few months, Sing It Loud have been making quite the name for themselves. With their catchy pop punk rhythms and words, they have been becoming a common name in the scene and have no where to go but up right now! They have finished recording their sophomore album which was highlighted by Alternative Press as one of the most anticipated albums of 2010 and are ready for fans to start hearing it!

Sing it Loud first came to be in 2007 in Minneapolis and since then have been steadily growing in part from their debut effort that produced the hit singles Come Around and No One Can Touch Us and have hit the road with a slew of huge artists including Cobra Starship and All Time Low along with their headlining tour Guys, Guys, Guys. We recently got the chance to sit down with Pat Brown, who provides lead vocals in the band and we talked about everything from the writing and recording of their second album to some of their bigger influences.

You've headlined tours along with playing with bands like Cobra Starship, All Time Low and Motion City Soundtrack. If you could go on tour with any three bands, who would they be and why?
Taking Back Sunday, Jimmy Eat World, and Foo Fighters. These are three of my favorite bands that I look up to and try and pull influence from. Touring with any of them would be a dream come true.

Why Sing It Loud for the name?
What happened was we recorded our entire first EP with out a band name. That was the hardest part about starting this band. We brainstormed for weeks about a name but we wanted it to be perfect so we wouldn't settle. We booked an entire Midwest market tour under the band name "The Heat" so promoters would book us. We had a song called "Let Yourself Go" on our EP that had the song lyric "Sing It Loud" in the bridge and we really liked the sound of it so Ben suggested that we steal the line for our name and change the lyrics and that's exactly what we did.

It's rumored that you'll be working on your sophomore album. How do you believe the process will differ from your first album?
We actually have been finished recording our sophomore album since late October. The song writing is a lot different from our debut. It's much more pop music than pop punk. On our last album, Kieren and I wrote the whole thing and the other guys weren't very involved. This time around Kieren wrote a lot more of the album then I did but everyone got to dip their hands into the writing process. We've never had everyone working on all of the songs. It was a pretty fun experience and I think it helped make the overall product more enjoyable for the other guys than just Kieren and I.

Who would you say are some of your major musical influences?
Adam Lazarra from Taking Back Sunday and Ace Enders from The Early November (RIP). They're front men that I would try and look like, sing like and act like all the time being in bands in high school. I've seen both bands so many times I can't even count. They definitely had a huge impact on me. Who would be your dream artist to collaborate with and what would the song be about?
I would want to collaborate on a song with Andrew W.K. and I would want the song to be about partying!

How did the band first come together?
We all came from the Minneapolis area and all played in local bands throughout our junior and senior high school years. We all knew each other from local shows and parties and what not and one night at a local show in Rogers, MN Ben, Kieren and I all told each other that if our bands ever broke up we would join forces and start a new one. That's exactly what happened!

What's your favorite part of the touring experience?
All of the people you meet. It's incredible. Every tour it's like you're traveling across the country and sometimes the world with thirty friends. It's ridiculous. Every tour we do I leave with tons of new friends. It shouldn't be real life but somehow it is.



How did you choose the concept for your video "Come Around"?
We had a huge list of companies and different ideas for our music video. We chose to go with Luke Asa for our music video producer because we loved the idea of us chasing each other around and doing funny stuff in mod suits. Luke killed it. Another reason we really wanted to go with him is because he was newer than the other guys we could have chosen. We felt like this project would mean a lot more to him than it did to the other producers, he rules! if you're in a band, make sure he does one of your vids.

What's been the craziest fan encounter you've had?
Our fans know what we love. It's pretty insane. Like people will be bring me $20 gift cards to Chipotle and Applebee's and stuff. Sometimes they bake us cakes with our name on it. One time in Manchester, UK these fans brought me to a convenience store and bought me every single candy bar I hadn't heard of before, so sick! Our fans rule!

What can fans look forward to in 201o from Sing It Loud?
A brand new sophomore album from us in April, a really awesome tour that we're supporting in April and May. The lineup will blow your mind, and some headlining dates in the future as well in support of our new album!

--
Thanks again to Josh from Aware for setting this up and to Pat Brown for taking the time to talk to us! Check out more of their music on their myspace
and that tour he was talking about? They'll be out with Motion City Soundtrack, Fun. and A Rocket To the Moon so catch them when they come near you!

Matthew Winter leaves Rooney

After ten years with the sunny california band Rooney, today Matthew Winter has announced that he has left the band. With a band that has been the five original members since the beginning, this is heartbreaking but definitely what seems to come across as the best option for Matthew as he has decided to continue his schooling needing to be a doctor.

Writing a letter to his fans, it's a rare circumstance when a member really provides the reasoning behind his leaving but with being a band for so long, I don't think there was any other way he could do it. Within the letter, he tells the fans that he is sad to leave when Rooney has just finished the greatest album they have ever produced and just makes fans more excited to hear it, but unfortunately Matthew will be a fan in the crowd for the upcoming tours, not on stage.

I feel lucky enough now to have met Matthew before he left the band and was able to catch them on their most recent tour in December as I caught it one of the last few dates. All the best wishes to Matthew in everything he does!

Here's the letter itself:

"

Dear friends of Rooney –

It is with much mixed emotion I announce my departure from the band. Just a few days ago, I let the guys know that it’s time for me to take my life in a new direction. This has been the most difficult decision of my life so far, as Rooney has been the most significant fixture in my world, by far, for the past decade.

From age 17 until now (27), I have lived and breathed music with Ned, Louis, Robert, and Taylor. Rooney was a lifestyle, an escape, and an obstacle course rolled into one. For a long time, it was the only thing that really mattered to me. I look back at those times as some of the most unadulterated and sincere moments of my life. I cherish the shared passion and drive that we possessed as a group, and will always remember the music we made together. In fact, I take an enormous amount of pride in what we accomplished musically.

Over the last few years I have become less satisfied with my professional life. This has been a difficult reality to accept, as my now ex-bandmates are very important people to me, and I have had trouble accepting that my road might no longer be with them. I didn’t want to acknowledge that this enormously fortunate lifestyle wasn’t for me anymore. Whereas I once wanted nothing more than to tune-out the world and play with my friends, I now feel an obligation to move on and tackle new goals.

My plan is to continue my education and become a doctor. I have a huge amount of time that needs to be made-up, but that is a tiny price to pay for the experiences that I’ve had.

To all the people who have supported my band: I appreciate your loyalty and passion for music more than you could ever understand. While it is all-too-easy to take one’s fans for granted, I hold you all fully responsible for this crazy, bizarre, and enriching adventure that I’ve been on for the last ten years. My life will never be the same, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for letting this project of mine affect you so greatly. You have changed my life.

Take care, and good luck to all of you. Please don’t let this upset you. The band will go on without me, and I am on the path to great happiness. I am leaving you with the best record we ever made, and look forward to joining you guys in the audience at a show sometime soon.

Your friend,
Matthew Winter

P.S.

Although I’m not very active on facebook, I invite you all to friend request me and keep in touch. I made it a habit to keep my friends and fans separate in the past, but consider you all to be my friends now."

Yeah for being back in the news Jack's Mannequin.

It was just announced today that on March 16th, Jack's Mannequin will be releasing an insane deluxe version of their 2008 album The Glass Passenger thru itunes that includes footage of their 2009 acoustic tour along with their EP's from the same year 'In Valleys' and 'The Ghost Underground'.
The band was selected as one of the most anticipated albums of 2010 so I hope this wasn't what they were planning to release, but at the same time it's definitely a cool thing to see. If you have been reading this blog for a while now, you are probably well aware that they are one of my top bands over the years so I hope this is just the beginning for the year.
Check them out on tour right now with Fun. and especially tonight in Toronto! Fun. is looking for a fan correspondent to take pictures as well tonight! If you are interested, just send a note over to ournameisfun@nettwork.com!

What does 'M' mean, boys?

Dear The Maine,

I am going to assume that the M logo is the new album cover or something for the new headlining tour which we know is coming. I know Artist vs Poet will be out with you but who else and where? There is going to be a whole lot going on with The Maine this year and hopefully we get some news soon!

A little bit of Sleeperstar for you.

About a week ago, I had the chance to sit down with a great new band from Dallas called Sleeperstar and through our interview, I met some of the most down to earth people I have met in the business so far. There is much to come on Mix and Mark from this band, including an ep review of 'To Speak, To Love, To Listen' along with a new album coming out this year to an exclusive interview I did with the full band at their latest date in Boston.
For now though, I strongly suggest you check out their tour blog that they update every day on Sleeperstar.com for some exclusive and intimate pictures of their current tour along with some great pictures of the other band on the tour, Green River Ordinance.

EP Review-The Wild One by Rooney!

It's been a while since we heard new music from this California quintet but if this is just a sign of what is to come, then Rooney is definitely going to be putting their name back on the map.

The Wild one may be short but provides some great tracks and a sound that may have not been so present in the past. The band has definitely matured and the new EP has some great highlights. I would say my favorite track off the album would be the title track 'Wild One' and it is the one that differs most from their past in a good way. Ned Bower actually takes on the lead vocals for the track and it provides a jazzier sound to the track that we normally haven't heard.
My other favorite track that really portrays the sound the band has come to be known as is the opener to the EP 'Suckceed' which has a great introduction that seems to be sang by the whole band.

If the work on this EP is anything like what their next full length album will bring later this year, this band will definitely be regaining the following they had before and adding a great amount of new fans to their roster!

Possibly sounds like: Wild Sweet Orange, Augustana
Out of 10: 9/10
Track Listing:

1.Suckceed
2.I Don't Understand
3.Wild One
4.The Days Keep Going By

Finally...the track listing released for Punk Goes Classic Rock 2010!

Finally the track listing is released for the new Punk Goes..series with Classic Rock! The compilation will be released April 27th and AP just had the exclusive track listing. We've sat down with several of the acts on the new volume over these past few months like A Skylit Drive, VersaEmerge, Hit the Lights, The Maine and I See Stars and they were great at keeping their tracks under lock and key (okay, besides the obvious one from The Maine if you haven't been living under a rock!). Here is the full track listing and let us know if anything surprises you on it:

1. Hit The Lights "More Than A Feeling" (originally recorded by Boston)
2. VersaEmerge "Paint It Black" (originally recorded by The Rolling Stones)
3. The Almost "Free Fallin'" (originally recorded by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers)
4. Mayday Parade "We Are The Champions" (originally recorded by Queen)
5. The Summer Set "Rock 'n Roll All Nite" (originally recorded by KISS)
6. We The Kings "Caught Up In You" (originally recorded by .38 Special)
7. A Skylit Drive "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" (originally recorded by Journey)
8. I See Stars "Your Love" (originally recorded by The Outfield)
9. Pierce The Veil "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" (originally recorded by Blue Oyster Cult)
10. Forever The Sickest Kids "Crazy Train" (originally recorded by Ozzy Osbourne)
11. The Maine "Pour Some Sugar On Me" (originally recorded by Def Leppard)
12. Envy On The Coast "All Along The Watchtower" (originally recorded by Jimi Hendrix)
13. Every Avenue "Take Me Home Tonight" (originally recorded by Eddie Money)
14. Never Shout Never "Bohemian Rhapsody" (originally recorded by Queen)
15. blessthefall "Dream On" (originally recorded by Aerosmith)

Retweet: Hints of a huge tour? From Jack Barakat himself!

@JackAllTimeLow:We're touring this spring in the US with some bands who helped shape me. Dreams becoming reality

Twitter has become a huge place for bands to break news on what they are doing in the near future and Jack Barakat just dropped a doozy with out even probably realizing. Bands that have helped shape me? Dreams becoming Reality? I can think of a list that includes Jimmy Eat World, Blink 182, Jack's Mannequin, SoCo?

Either way, this tour should be amazing so hopefully we see those dates soon!

Most insane thing I've ever seen!

I tend to follow alot of the blogs of bands I'm inspired by, and one of those is VersaEmerge's Sierra Kusterbeck. She just posted this insane video of Lady Gaga's show last night in the UK and you just have to see it for yourself. What huge creature would you want on stage during your set?

Vote Annie Reuter for South By Southwest!

This is a little bit of a different post for Mix and Mark, but a colleague of mine who has been of a lot of assistance is in the running for winning a free trip as a music innovator for SXSW!

Annie writes the very interesting blog: www.yousingiwrite.blogspot.com and always has been an inspiration! There is only a week left in the contest but please vote for her!

All you have to do is visit: http://soundctrl.com/flashfwd/
and vote by writing in the following information:

Be sure to list the nominee name as Annie Reuter
Web site http://yousingiwrite.com
Email atreuter@gmail.com.

Maybe some day this will be me! :)

They just want to be the children of Adelphia.-Skylit Drive Interview

Since the release of their sophomore album as the band they are today with Adelphia, A Skylit Drive have skyrocketed to the top of the screamo rock game and after seeing them perform to a crowd of around 1,500 kids in comparison to my last time seeing them with maybe 300 just a short few months ago, It is clear to see that 2010 will be their year. With them being on the road through May with Alesana, the hard work will definitely pay off and I knew I should take up the opportunity to talk to Jag, who does lead vocals and Joey who plays guitar in the band when I could.
Their live show is passionate and powerful yet they still have a lot of interaction with the crowd through their set including body surfing competitions and diving into the crowd (with guitar!) and I got to see it once again during their current tour on the second night on Valentine's Day where they had just come off a show with about a thousand kids to start it off right. On the last few dates of the tour, they have been selling out the shows which can only be a good predictor for the rest of the tour dates. They will be on the tour in states till March 26th but right after with only a two week break, they will be going all over Europe for over a month playing such insane places like Rome and Prague. We talked about everything from how they hope their time in Europe this year will compare to the last time they were there to what occupations may be good for Joey to take on if he wasn't in A Skylit Drive.

You drove through that massive blizzard to get to your first show in Elgin, right? How did that go as a start to your touring cycle?
Jag: It was scary!
Joey: Yeah, I'm probably the best driver in the band so I mean I handled it pretty well.
Jag: He doesn't even have his license.
Joey: Yeah.

And then last time we talked you were about to go to Europe for the first time.
Jag: Oh it didn't end up happening because he went into rehab.
(everyone laughs)
For one second there, I believed you. Now, you're going back with Alesana right after this tour. Are you excited for that, like going to places like Rome and Prague?
Jag: We're excited about it.
Joey:Yeah, I'm excited because last time the weather was so shitty. It was depressing because it was all this rain.
Jag: We'd wake up at like one thinking it's like four in the morning because it only went from gray to black. Gray back to black. I saw the sun for like maybe two minutes total in two weeks. It was depressing.

Adelphia. It was out for about five months last time we talked but now that it's been about eight months and kids have had a chance to really listen to it for a while, how has the reception been?
Joey: The response has been awesome. I mean, I have no complaints about it. It's good, every song we play off of it, it's just like everyone sings along. It's pretty cool!

That's awesome. I know you've been saying Joey that you're covering 'Stick Stickly' for the Punk goes Classic Rock compilation. I'm pretty sure you know I don't believe you.
Joey: Yeah, I wonder if Attack Attack has heard stuff about that actually.
Jag: Yeah, but we don't want to say the song.
I totally understand, I wouldn't want to know beforehand but some kids actually believe you.
Joey: Oh yeah, definitely!
Jag: I know! People like write me on my formspring saying 'Joey told me' and I'm like 'Well, Joey told you? 90% of what he tells you is probably fabricated'.

Now if you were going to collaborate with another band on this tour, be it The Word Alive or Alesana or any of the other bands, who would you pick and what would the song be about?
Jag: I'd probably pick Of Mice and Men.
Joey: I'd pick Of Mice and Men for sure.
Jag: Just because we've been friends with them for so long. I know we could write something sick because we all have so much fun together. I mean, like we're friends with everybody but we've been really good friends for quite a while and we'd be able to hang out and write a really awesome song.
They actually said the exact same thing about you so there you go!

What was one of the first shows you went to as a kid?
Joey: My first show was when I was six years old. I saw The Beach Boys and John Stamos was playing drums.
No way!
Joey: Swear to god!
Jag: I saw Kiss on their first reunion tour in 1996 when they first put the make up back on. Good times!

Over the years, I mean since 2008 when you first got big as a band with Wires(their debut release in 2008 as a band), I think you've really gotten a lot of fans through the internet along with people listening to you on myspace. How do you think that's affected who you are today?
Joey: Yeah, we definitely probably couldn't have done it without myspace to be honest.
Jag: I don't think anybody can do it without myspace now a days.
Joey: Yeah.
Jag:It makes me wonder how bands like Motley Crue and all those bands got that big like it makes me feel really lazy. They did it all by like busting their ass.
Joey: Putting up fliers everyday, outside of shows all the time and we just post a little thing up on myspace.
Jag: And then it goes out to like a thousand kids. I mean,definitely the music scene has really changed. That's also a good and bad thing. It's good because like even beyond talented people who maybe aren't so good at networking can still have the opportunity to make it but at the same time it allows a lot of quote on quote crap to get through you know.
Joey: Like Of Mice and Men for example. Horrible band, big on myspace.
Jag: I actually change my quote earlier saying that I would want to write a song with them because we're friends, it's just to show them how much better we are then them.
That's so sweet of you.
Joey: Yeah.

I know you've been in this band for a long time but if you weren't in A Skylit Drive, what do you think you would be doing, considering you both have side projects (Of an Era and We Are Giants respectively)?
Jag: Yeah, I'd just be in another band definitely. I mean, while I was auditioning for these guys, I was auditioning for other bands too. So, I mean I would have just gone on to the next best opportunity so I'm glad things worked out the way they did.
Joey: I'd would probably record bands because I like doing that anyways.



Now, you recently put out a video for the first single off of Adelphia for 'Those Cannons Could Sink A Ship' but if you were to do another one for one of the other tracks like 'Eva The Carrier', what would be the craziest concept?
Jag: The actual concept itself. I mean like a girl named Eva having like telekinetic powers, where she can like control people with her mind.
Joey: She can like create light out of her hands.
Jag: You know Jean Grey of X-Men?
Yeah.
Joey: She's a real person though and they actually killed her for being a witch. She was one of Houdini's friends too. She got killed by someone who thought she was one.
That's who you base Eva The Carrier off?
Joey: Sort off. Yeah, I was just reading stuff on Wikipedia and I found it. I was looking at like telekinetic stuff just because I was bored and was thinking about it and I saw this little cool. I clicked on it and her name was Eva Carrier.

They've come a long way from the fat lip days!

I'm not ashamed to admit that I am pretty stoked on the idea of Sum 41 coming back, making a new album and hitting the road again. It was definitely a surprise to see them on the Warped Tour line up but I know what they have been working on is going to be great! Every day, they have been posting a new studio blog from the recording process and I though this one was pretty genius. It talks about Deryck's writing style (the way he spells his name has always been a wonder to me, I don't even know if that way is right!) and more in the one they just posted about fifteen minutes ago.
Enjoy!

Something that made me smile: Pokerface..the screamo way!

Catchy as hell, the cover of Pokerface by Of Mice and Men has been on repeat all day. Since I caught a live set from these boys on Sunday night and got a chance to talk to them, I have realized how good it truly is.

With the contrast between Austin and Shayley on this song, it is undeniably a great cover and one that has definitely propelled the band to a good level of fame. With out even releasing a full length (their debut comes out March 9th!), this band is already a common name in the scene. Check them out on their myspace and pick up the album when it hits stores. Believe me, it's going to be great!

POV: The Emptiness Tour! Valentine's Day at the Palladium!

Last night, I made it out to the Palladium in Worcester for the second date of the Emptiness Tour, Alesana's first headlining tour in support of the new album with the same namesake. It was a packed crowd of about 1,500 kids and with the bands that were playing on this tour, it was understandable why.
To have We Came As Romans, Of Mice and Men, The Word Alive, A Skylit Drive and Alesana all on the same bill is a little insane and when I walked into the venue, the pit had already filled up. I had never been at a show at the Palladium Downstairs before and in comparison to the upstairs room, it's strange to think that the two are even in the same building!

The night started off with We Came As Romans. I got the chance to sit down with Joshua, Lou and Kyle before doors opened where we talked about everything from their tour plans (watch out for those dates soon!) to if they were a conversation heart, what would they say.
Their set itself set off with a huge bang. As is the style today, there are two vocalists in this band with one doing the screaming and Kyle singing. The mixing of the two in their tracks really is something that makes them different from others in their genre and may be one of the reasons the crowd was so into their set from start to finish. They made a great start to the night and definitely had some fans in the audience!

Next up was Of Mice and Men. The band and The Word Alive alternate playing the second and third slots. Earlier in the evening, I also sat down with a few members of the band being Jaxin, Shayley, Tino and Phil. With their debut full length album coming out March 9th of this year, there was plenty of serious things to talk about but we also covered such important things as what "Snarf" is. Snarf is a collaboration between these guys and Nick and Joey from A Skylit Drive, which as I learned can also be used as an adjective or a verb and involves actual pigs in some way. We also talked about some of their first shows as kids along with who would be a dream tour for them. The interview was also the first one Shayley had ever done with Of Mice and Men so it was great to be a part of that experience!

As I saw them come on stage as the second band of the night, there were a few technical difficulties but the crowd soon forgot them as Jaxin talked to the crowd through it. The crowd progressively improved and got more into the show. The band has a lot to prove due to for a long time just having two songs on their myspace..and one of them was a cover but with their debut album coming out in just under three weeks the crowd was definitely liking what they were hearing, especially when it came to Gaga time. Switching off vocals with Austin who was providing the screams, their cover of Pokerface illuminated the kids. The contrast between Austin and Shayley in this song is great and the crowd was definitely into it. I have a strong feeling this band is going to blow up with this new album if they weren't already huge.


Next up were The Word Alive who are a familiar face to me (You can find our first interview here.) and it was great to see the boys again. Our interview was a little more serious then the last considering the band is currently working on their debut full length album. As we learned from bands like Mice and Men and We Came As Romans who just released their debut in November, it is a very trying and stressful time but the band seems to be coming through it just fine and with humor. We talked about their dream tour, their music video fiasco, Telle's special connection with the late Stewart Tegger and I was able to meet the new drummer who will be formally announced very soon on their myspace who recently replaced Tony Aguilera on drums. Look for a lot to come with this band over this year, but for now just catch their amazing live show!
The first time I caught these boys was in New Haven and I had to jet pretty quickly but tonight will be my first full set. They started off their set with their now common jump warm ups and that's when their passion began. With Dusty shredding on the keys and Zach on guitar, the liveliness in the band was undeniable, and the crowds was completely sold! They had a few technical difficulties in their set but besides that, the crowd was definitely loving it and when they ended on Battle Royale and were jumping and head banging in synchronization, it was a great set!

Next up was A Skylit Drive. Definitely not a new band to the site (find our second interview here), as I walked into the room, it was definitely a warm setting and talked to the band prior to the interview. Even though We Came As Romans came on during our interview, I was able to sit down for a smile filled one with Joey and Jag and we talked everything from possible careers for Joey and how they hope their experience in Europe with tour mates Alesana will be in comparison to their headlining tour there in December to the inspiration for their song Eva The Carrier which was semi-based a bit off of an actual real person.

They started off their set with the track and it was clear right from the beginning that no one was going to be disappointed in the crowd. Playing a fair amount of tracks both off of their latest effort 'Adelphia' and 'Wires and the Concept of Breathing', the crowd was definitely pleased. This band is one that is very active with their crowd which included a body surfing competition and if you reached Jag, that's how you got a point. With Jag going into the crowd several times during his set and Nick actually stage diving while holding his guitar, both the band and the crowd were absolutely at the top of their game. Playing songs like 'Knights of the Round' and 'I'm Not A Thief, I'm a Treasure Hunter' along with 'Children of Adelphia' and 'Wires and the Concept of Breathing', the crowd was singing along the whole time and it was a great show!

To be perfectly honest with you, for the last show of the night, I was intimidated by their set design and after the first few tracks, decided to call it quits for the night show review wise. I was not a fan but I know there were plenty of people there just for him so they definitely had a good crowd!

Look for all the interviews from these bands on Music Remedy and some here within the next two weeks as we still have a few more interviews to put up for you prior with bands like Puddle of Mudd, Sleeperstar, Green River Ordinance and more coming your way before then! Keep on coming back to catch everything new happening here. Hopefully 2010 is our year!

Quick Rehash of where I have disappeared too!

This weekend was my first major weekend back into the music scene and that's why I disappeared for a few days on here! I did exclusive interviews with a bunch of bands including Strike Anywhere, A Skylit Drive, This Time Next Year, Sleeperstar, Of Mice and Men, Green River Ordinance, The Word Alive and We Came As Romans!

It was great to catch up again with the boys in The Word Alive and A Skylit Drive, and all of the shows I was able to attend this weekend were awesome. I just got back home from the weekend, but I'm working on transcribing all of our interviews. Last night especially was a packed crowd with around 1,500 kids in the audience.

I'll be posting my review of The Emptiness tour later today so look for that as well! To all of the bands I sat down with this weekend, thanks so much for your time! It was a blast to meet all of you!

Go because I can't. "Harmonies for Haiti"

For all you Cali folk, there is an amazing benefit concert happening tonight at the House of Blues in Los Angeles called Harmonies for Haiti that was organized by Chelsea Staub. We all know of the after effects of this horrible disaster situation in Haiti right now due to the earthquake that has affected millions of people's lives and homes. There are lots of benefit dinners and concerts going around right now but this is one you should definitely make a point to attend.

Fourteen acts/bands will be taking part in the concert including Drake Bell, The Summer Set and a past interview for Mix and Mark Eye Alaska amongst many others. Make it a point to stop by there tonight!

Side Projects..and why they are a good thing!

Lately in the music industry (& in this case film), a lot of bands are breaking out into both solo side projects and other bands. The same goes for some actors and unfortunately, fans of these bands are quick to jump to conclusions that it means they are ending their first band, or stopping acting or something of the like.

I had been laying low about it but now it's just making me pretty angry. It first started when I heard about Ryan Gosling doing a band on the side of his acting career. Dead Man's Bones is one of the best bands I've seen live and it's definitely not your typical pop mainstream that you hear from actresses and actors who decide to break into the music scene. Music is where Ryan seems incredibly happy. Zach Shields and him pretty much make a dream team on stage and in their music. Their death themed indie rock sound is so great and when they recorded their first album (which came out October 2009), they recorded it with the Silverlake Conservatory who they now bring on the road with them! What annoys me though is that fans are incredibly naive about it and go to his shows and just stare at him while on stage and don't even really listen to the music beforehand so when they go and see what their music truly is, they don't even really pay attention. A lot of them just shout out" You're so Dreamy!" "Noah Calhoun, I love you!" and stuff of the like.

An example like Dead Man's Bones brings me to my main point here. Side projects aren't the sign of demise of someone's career in the other area of his life. Ryan Gosling has two new movies out this year yet still continues to have his band. For me, I see side projects as where their "real passion" or dreams may lay. Take for example, another actor/musician Robert Schwartzman, who more like triples as the lead singer of Rooney, has a project called SoloBob and acts in movies. He's most well known acting wise for playing Michael Moscovitz in The Princess Diaries but this film came out like eight years ago and yet at their last show I saw them at in Boston, some idiot in the crowd yelled it out. It's also rumored that he will be filming a new movie soon which also includes his brother but it's not stalling his part in Rooney. Taylor also has started a side band called The Roughs and they are fantastic. If someone was a real fan of the band, they would know that the band isn't coming to an end. They just released their new EP 'Wild One' and have also finished their new full length. It just hasn't been publicized as much since they got dropped from their record label but they are so motivated in working to play as many shows as they can and to release this album. They would not be working this hard if they didn't believe in the band. It's a problem a lot of bands have found lately.

Recently, someone posted on the rooney forum this rant and reason why she thinks Rooney is fading out. No new music? Inform yourself, there is plenty of it. All the songs are amazing and another point she made..the band has more of a part now in the writing and singing? How is this a problem? Have you heard Ned sing? He is so great and takes the leads on Wild One. How is that an issue?

Finally, the elephant in the room. Really awesome fans are saying that side projects are the reason for the demise of Fall Out Boy. I really question your loyalty to the band considering everyone in that band is doing their own side project/band and all are extremely happy doing it. Joe and Andy have the Damned Things, Pete is working on what is sure to be a fantastic deal with Craig Owens and Patrick is recording, producing, doing everything for his own solo album.

Overall, just realize that side projects are never a bad thing. Enjoy them for what they are.

Acoustic Rock to Screamo..all in one weekend!

Hey readers!

This Valentine's day weekend instead of the traditional chocolate filled dates and candy hearts, I'll be doing something a little bit different. I'll be out covering the new Alesana tour "The Emptiness", the new Green River Ordinance Tour and the hometown show on Four Year Strong's current tour! During this weekend, I'll be interviewing some familiar faces to Mix and Mark with A Skylit Drive and The Word Alive along with a bunch of first time interviews with the bands We Came As Romans, Of Mice and Men, Sleeperstar, This Time Next Year, Strike Anywhere along with putting the last details on Four Year Strong and Alesana! It's going to be a busy weekend and definitely filled with some interviews that I would love to include some fan questions in!

I started doing fan questions in my interviews with some favorites of ours like Breathe Carolina and Cash Cash and would love to continue this tradition! If you have a question you've been dying to ask for any of these bands, just drop a comment here or give me a shout at cojohns1@gmail.com!

Thanks again for coming back and posting your views on things happening in music today and let me know who you would like to see more of on here! Also check me out at MusicRemedy.com where I work as a features editor!

May not be a supergroup to the mainstream eye, but to me they are!

They may not sound too familiar to the mainstream eye, you know to those fans of Jay Z, Ke$ha...wow, is that all I can really think of that are on the radio right now? Jeez.

I'm not seeing this as a bad thing though because seriously if I did not start writing this blog and really exploring the music industry, I would not have found some of my favorite bands that I listen to today. I was trying to come up with some examples of pop super groups that you hear on the radio but really, I don't believe there are any.

In the underground though we have a bunch and one of the great ones coming out now is Isles & Glaciers which takes members like ex Chiodos front man Craig Owens, Emarosa's Jonny Craig (who also sang a few shows in Skylit), Vic and Mike Fuentes from Pierce The Veil, Matt Goddard also from Chiodos, Nick Martin from Underminded and finally Brian Southall from TREOS and puts them all in one band. They have officially announced the release of their first work together, the EP 'The Hearts of Lonely People' and I believe some tour dates are in the works.

Writing this article and listening to this band makes me sad to think how much good music and amazing lyrics and melodies about ninety percent of America is missing out on.

We should go together like mocha on ice.

I really don't think so Evan.

This may come back to haunt me, but I don't just write about the things I like on here, I also write about the things I just don't get.

I just got a message from friends or enemies that linked me to the new and first music video from Evan Taubenfeld. Who's that you ask? It is the ex guitarist for Avril Lavigne. The song? Starbucks Girl. The sound? Horribly alike to Owl City and you all know how much I do not love Owl City.

I don't want to push an idea in your head, but let me know what you think of it!

wooh flashblack: A Rocket To The Moon.

Look what little gem I just came across.

If you've been reading this for a while, you know I've worked with this talented band a few times around. We've done an interview along with writing a few things on them but this is quite possibly my favorite thing I've seen come from them.

It's their video for their single from their debut EP "Greetings From.." for 'If Only They Knew'. It's pretty silly and good so check it out for yourself:

First name to Bonnaroo?

Something about seeing bands I have interviewed playing major festivals that I really really want to go to some day makes me a little excited. Both P.O.S. and Alana Grace have been announced for Coachella along with a slew of artists I've interviewed including I See Stars, VersaEmerge and company playing both Bamboozle and Warped Tour but the festival I would most like to see just announced that a band I just was on the phone with last week will be joining them at Bonnaroo once again!
The Postelles are a New York born and raised group who have played the festival circuit once or twice before but they haven't even released a debut album yet! It will drop later this year along with a brand new EP on March 2nd but it's thrilling to see them playing the festival I would be most excited about going too (okay that and SXSW) and I hope to see more bands be announced soon!

Along with the Postelles being announced, several great acts that I personally love will be out as well included Regina Specktor, Phoenix, Weezer and..............SHE&HIM! :) I'll clearly have to make it out there now! Head to bonnaroo.com for the rest of the amazing line up!

An introduction to the canadian indie scene..The Midway State!

His face and his band may not be one of the most recognizable ones in the US music scene right now, but Nathan Ferraro and The Midway State are quickly becoming one of the most well known bands in the Canadian indie music scene and recently in Montreal, Mix and Mark through Kalli and Sarah were able to sit down with Nathan prior to his sold out show with Stereos in Montreal this past November.

The Midway State started back in 2002 and since then have shared a stage with Lifehouse, Avril Lavigne and Mika to name a few and have been making a big name for themselves. Their album "Holes" was incredibly successful with hit singles like "Never Again" and "Can't Stop Waking Up To You", which just happens to be my personal favorite and the boys currently find themselves back in the studio working on their next album. During their interview with Nathan, they talked about the band growing together to their full potential and what they've been working on with someone called Gaga.

Currently you're on tour with Stereos. How has the tour been so far?
It's been awesome because it's like getting to a lot of the younger fans of ours you know. You forget what its' like. When I was fifteen and I went to shows, or sixteen or seventeen it's so magical. As you get older you start to analyze the shows more and you think about different things but when you're a kid and you go to a show it's just so in another world. So It's cool to get to be a part of that again, even though I'm in my early twenties now.
And what about the other bands?
Yeah that's the other thing that's amazing. With Stereos, The Artist Life and The Envy, we've all become friends. We've been great friends with The Envy for a long time and just now meeting Stereos and Artist Life, it's like a twenty person band now. We're sharing a bus and stuff so you become like the same band. It's wicked.

What's your favorite part of the tour?
My favorite part of the tour honestly is that there's so much that goes into playing every night that when I finally get to come on stage and sit down behind my piano and just play. It's so much fun, it's like why I do it so that's definitely the best part.

Can you see into the crowd while playing?
Yeah totally. Sometimes when they turn the lights on over the audience and then you get to see everyone. Sometimes when the lights are all on you, you can't really see too much but I can imagine it looks great.
Can you hear people from the crowd?
Yeah we can hear everything. We have like microphones that go into the crowd and everything so we can hear what kids are saying. You can hear everything.
Oh really? Oh no!
Not like that. Yes, I can hear everything you've been saying!

You've toured with so many big names like Mika, Theory of A Deadman and Avril Lavigne. Who would be your top three dream acts to go on the road with?
I would say, it would be amazing to tour with Radiohead..I'm gonna say Paul McCartney and Sigur Ros. Those are my three? If dead, John Lennon.

So where would your dream venue be?
The dream venue would be suspended above New York City held up by helicopters with the stars to light the stage. That is the cheesiest thing I've ever said.

How do you go about the songwriting process? Do you write it all or is it a collaboration?
Well, we're kind of developing still because we're a young band but on this first record, I wrote everything. Um, it's just always been something that's meant so much to me since I was like fourteen years old. It's just like I love it more than anything in the world so I'm always writing. Always trying to write music, write new songs everyday and sometimes I'm really frustrated and sometimes I'm really happy because I wrote something that I think is good.
You know now we're starting to do some writing as a band and collaborating and stuff too just because we want to grow, we want to expand our sound and try different things. It's really open.

So you say you've been writing since you were fourteen but do you ever look back at stuff you wrote when you were fourteen?
I have a little tape recorder like this that I bring with me everywhere and I've had one since I was fourteen. So I have like tapes after tapes after tapes of songs. Like everything that I've ever written recorded on this little tape recorder so sometimes it's really funny. I'll go back to a tape from like 1999 ten years ago and I can listen to what I was thinking. I'll listen to stuff from when I was really young, and uh, most of it is really bad!
Surely you can grab something from it.
Yeah, maybe like a note here or there.
Proud of.

Speaking of you know technology and stuff helping, how do you feel that the Internet has affected your success?
I think it's just a great help especially for small, more independent kind of bands. It's so wicked because it's distribution. You can write a song one day, record it the next and have it in people's homes the third day. It's so great that way and it really gives everybody a shot. So for us, it's really great. We went over and toured in France and these kids are singing along. I've never been to France before in my life so it's the weirdest thing.
That must be the coolest experience.
Yeah it's really great. Especially when they speak a different language then you.
It's like the only words they know in English.
Exactly. It's like 'You guys don't know what you're saying'. I find like playing to an audience that speaks a different language, it's that much more intimate because they aren't like analyzing our lyrics. Once again, it's like kids. They aren't looking at it the same, they aren't listening to the words. It's just music, It's so cool. That's why i love the band Sigur Ros because they sing in Icelandic and I don't speak Icelandic so all the melodies just seem that much more beautiful.

It's a whole different experience. So why the name Midway State?
The Midway State? Well, it was just we realized that you are never where you want to be in this life. Maybe that's impossible in this life, it's always a struggle, you're always in the midway state. We're always in this place where its' like 'Yeah, but tomorrow we'll be playing arenas'. It's like we're always naive and trying to get better.

You've collaborated with the drummer of Sum 41 on a video. What artist would you most like to do a collab with?
Hmm, well we just did a collab with Lady Gaga actually which was really cool and a lot of fun. We did a cover of a song by Peter Gabriel with her and she was just so pro and such an amazing artist to work with. I learned a lot from her, she's such a great singer, she's awesome so that was really exciting but I would love to do a collaboration with the original guy Peter Gabriel who wrote the song "Don't Give Up". I always looked up to him, that would be really cool for me.

Did Lady Gaga teach you anything new about like performance skills because she's one of the best?
She is. She's real, she really gets into it. We shot a video for this thing and she was just more emotional on set then I've ever been in my life and it just shows you where the bar is. It's pretty cool.

So who are your major musical influences?
Hmm, well kind of like bands that I love, like this year I love MGMT. I've been really into Phoenix lately and it kind of, it always changes. It's always evolving so we did a tour with Mika and he had a couple songs that I loved and through were so cool so that influenced me. Maybe I'll go back and listen to Bob Dylan for some reason I'll be on a kick like that and it influences me. It's really all over the place but growing up I listened to Neil Young a lot because that's what my parents had at the house. Bonnie Raitt. Yeah it's kind of weird just whatever was around. My parents loved the soft rock, easy rock.

Are there any music plans we can look forward to from you guys?
We're going to finish this tour and then in the new year, we're going to start to work on our new record back in Toronto which is really, really exciting.

Are you going to go a different route, like completely?
You know, we're just kind of going to go where it takes us. We never really want to force anything. We've grown over the last couple years as individuals and as a band. As a writer I've grown so we've got a lot of stuff that's already started to come and we're just going to kind of see where it goes. We're going to try to even put less and less boundaries on what we do.

And the song, "Change For You". You did the original but you also did it with Carly Rae. Did you find it changed the sound a lot?
Yeah it totally did. It became a new thing but I met Carly at the Juno Awards and I just loved her voice. We became really good friends and I thought it was just a cool idea. I always wanted to hear a girl in that song and so the great thing about having so many recording studios these days and Internet and stuff, she recorded her part in Vancouver and I recorded mine in Toronto. We put them together and it's a totally different sound but it's a different thing.

Would you like to do that more like grab some of your older songs and bring them into a new album?
Yeah, sometimes I think about that a lot. Where there will be like an old song that I wrote that I think is pretty good but maybe we represented it the wrong way or like we missed the mark on the way we recorded it or produced it and people aren't experiencing it the way that I heard it in my head. Sometimes I would like a second shot at certain songs so maybe we'll try that.

Did you expect that "Never Again" would pick up so fast?
No, not at all. It was like, I remember, that was one of the last songs I wrote for the record and I remember it was like Christmas and I was listening back to a few things with one of my old tapes and I had that riff and I was like 'oh that's a good riff' and then I just wrote the song in like ten minutes really quickly and I didn't really think anything of it and then it became the single which was really unexpected.

What inspires you to write your songs?
Um, it's like a thing where its' this obsession to get the feeling that I get when I create something. I imagine it happens to filmmakers and painters too when you create something, you get this high where you feel like everything else in the world is okay and I can walk around because I feel like I have something up my sleeve. Like I can be the lamest dude in the bar but it's like "Yeah but I just wrote this like hit song". So, since I was like fourteen and I went to high school, I always have loved having that feeling. Something that just I made and that I know. So, it's like a constant struggle to always keep that feeling, and get that feeling of inspiration and happiness because when I write something that's good, it makes everything in the world okay for me.

How will that change once you start getting input from your band for different stuff?
Different Stuff? Well, couldn't tell you!
We shall see!
Yeah, I mean we've already done it a bit and it's kind of the same thing. It's like even if I just have an idea that I think is great or just a chorus that I think is great or a melody, I can get the same feeling and you know using the people around you and using each other to build it and make it better, it only like helps that.


--
Thanks again to Kalli and Sarah in Montreal for doing this interview and to Nathan Ferraro and the rest of Midway State for taking the time out of their busy schedule! Check out their music on their myspace
and check us out over the next few days for more from Kalli and Sarah with The Envy and Stereos!

FYS has a new track up!

For the next two months or so, there are at least two albums coming out each week that I really, really want but being a journalist I must live vicariously through you since we don't really make the big bucks. For now, I can rock out just as much as you will be doing soon though if you pick up the brand new Four Year Strong album coming out March 9th. Right now a brand new track from the album is available called "Wasting Time" and it's streaming on Absolute Punk right now here.

Right now, I will be attending their show this Saturday night at ICC in Boston, and it looks like I'll be sitting down with the boys for an interview so comment here or email any questions you would want me to ask them at cojohns1@gmail.com! Let me know what you think of the track!

New song from the Audition!

In just over a month, one of my personal favorite bands I've truly experienced over this past year, the Audition will be dropping their new album Great Danger. The official release date is March 2nd but lucky for us, they have just put up a stream of one of the brand new tracks "You Ruined Me" on their myspace and I'm already starting to get sold.

It's reminscient of their last effort "Self Titled" but that sound is what I love. It's not your typical pop rock album, it definitely has a bit of a rougher edge and they perform these songs to an amazing level. I caught the band for the first time during the last Cobra Starship headlining tour at Club Hell in Providence and I'm looking forward to being able to catch them on the road again soon. For now though, I'll just be in music bliss.

Check out the interview I did with Danny Stevens as well here.