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This May The New Pornographers will no doubt catapult Vancouver, BC into the international spotlight once again with the release of their second record, Electric Version. Not since the days before former Boston mayor Paul Cellucci came to town to become America's ambassador to Canada have the staid yet stately streets of the 'couv' quaked with such anticipation. The follow up the bands late 2000's debut Mass Romantic will be released by Mint Records and licensed to Matador Records for American distribution, according to the Matador Web site (http://www.matadorrecords.com/news/index.html). The tracklist follows: The newest full length from modern-day Devo, Atom and His Package, is available for preorder now from Hopeless Records. As an added bonus, anyone who orders before the street date of February 11, 2003 gets a peel and stick mustache for their television! Now you can give Martha Stewart, Tony Soprano and Barbara Walters a mustache and entertain yourself for hours. Deep Elm Records is pleased to announce its collaboration with The American Foundation For Suicide Prevention (AFSP) and Hot Topic Stores for the first annual Too Young To Die tour beginning March 14 in Dallas, Texas and running through April 13. Confirmed artists for each date include Brandston, Red Animal War, Desert City Soundtrack, Settlefish and David Singer. The tour was created by Deep Elm and its Artists to provide education about suicide prevention. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of tickets, merchandise and compilations will be donated to the AFSP, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing our knowledge of suicide and our ability to prevent it (http://www.afsp.org). If you were searching for conclusive evidence of the death of emo the January 19 announcement of the dissolution of the Dismemberment Plan should do the trick. According to a letter on the D-Plan Web site penned by bassist Eric Axelson, the band has accomplished all that it could ask for in ten years of recording and touring and saw no reason to carry on the sad-sad charade. Axelson reports that the break-up was amicable, but one might wonder why he and not frontman and apologist Travis Morrison broke the news to the world. Yet, Axelson seemed to substantiate the pleasant terms of the split by leaving open the possibility of a no doubt intolerable string of reunion shows and benefit appearances for years to come. The D-Plan break up comes just a few months after the demise of the band's label DeSoto Records and the break-ups of fellow emo posterfellas The Promise Ring, Burning Airlines and Jets to Brazil. Aside from their shared affinity for the songwriting based on lotsa angular guitars, cut time, tension/release climaxes, and a fanatical love for all things Ian MacKaye - all of these bands were also part of the sprawling, yet short-lived, dynasty of former Jawbox and Burning Airlines frontman, Government Issue bassist and ubiquitous producer J. Robbins. Mr. Robbins and his handlers have turned down or ignored Bettawreckonize's multiple requests for an interview over the years. Yet, your intrepid servants here at the 'wreck will not rest until the truth about Mr. Robbins role in this string of breakups is exposed. Head on over to www.howtostartafire.com to check out the new Further Seems Forever album, to be released on February 11th. You can stream the whole album, check out the cover art, and look around at the other features. Akron, Ohio's The Black Keys recently announced that they've sign with Epitaph subsidiary Fat Possum, and are gearing up to release their sophomore album, Thick Freakness, on April 8th. Oklahoma's Ester Drang has joined the Jade Tree roster. The band will be releasing their second album and Jade Tree debut, Infinite Keys CD on April 1, 2003. Fans of the Flaming Lips and Spiritualized will enjoy Infinite Keys, which was recorded at Echo Labs and mixed at Soma by Chris Colbert (Neutral Milk Hotel, Elf Power). Boysetsfire will be a part of the soundtrack for the newest comic book to film transition, Daredevil, starring Ben Affleck. Boysetsfire will also be filming footage for a forthcoming DVD at their show at the Trocadero, in Philadelphia, PA so mosey on down if you're in the area and you may just get your 15 minutes of fame. Jets to Brazil drummer Chris Daly has left the band. Now the band needs a drummer and the following is the criteria: "Having never done this sort of thing before, we are none of us certain how to proceed. I'd like to appeal to anyone in the New York / Brooklyn area first. I would hope that you are a fan of the band first and a good drummer second, but a good drummer nonetheless. Mostly that you are open to new experience, friendly, compassionate, not better looking than us. Our rehearsals are informal and rigorous - ideas are welcome and songs are shaped accordingly. I guess what I'm asking for is a liberated artisan type. Our goal is to tour the United States, Europe, Japan and to continue making challenging and unlikely music. This is not meant to intimidate applicants, it is intended rather to inspire a positive, creative relationship. If this appeal resonates, please write us at distantwizard@hotmail.com. Thanks to all for reading and especially to our people who give us their time and minds and say, "Yes"." Paint It Black (Featuring Dr. Dan 'Screamin' Yemin of Lifetime and Kid Dynamite (making his vocal debut), David Wagenschutz (Lifetime, Kid Dynamite, Good Riddance), Dave Hause (The Curse) and Andy Nelson (Affirmative Action Jackson) is ready to release their eagerly awaited debut for Jade Tree on June 17. Avenged Sevenfold will be following up Sounding The Seventh Trumpet with a new studio full-length next summer. If things go as planned they will record in April for a July release. You'll be able to hear tracks on their site prior to the release. Joan of Arc's first official tour of the millennium in support of the soon-to-be-released So Much Staying Alive And Lovelessness LP/CD kicks off in late-February will cover the entire US. So Much Staying Alive And Lovelessness LP/CD will be released on February 4. Milemarker will be playing at The Concert, Rally and March to challenge President Bush's assessment of the State of the Union at around 10:30 PM on January 28, 2003 with other performers such as Mr. Lif and Thievery Corporation. There will also be speeches by the U.S. Green Party, Reverend Billy of the Church of Stop Shopping, Rami Fareed Asak of the Progressive Muslim Network and others. The location is the Westside U.S. Capitol; Reflecting Pool at 3rd St. NW. Milemarker is also heading out on the road to co-headline some dates with the Blood Brothers from February 18 through March 3. A large list of bands now appears on the Warped Tour 2003 website along with a full itinerary of tentative dates. For all the scoop hit www.WarpedTour.com. The release date for AFI`s Sing the Sorrow has been moved yet again to March 11th. Propagandhi's website is indicating that the band will be recording a covers album soon. "We have begun working on a series of recordings that will appear as an album this summer or fall featuring our versions of other people's masterpieces whose greatness has been understated or even forgotten over the years..." The Living End will record their next album in America. The band will head to the U.S.A. as soon as Big Day Out is over. The band plan to release their 3rd album mid-year. From Strike Anywhere's official site: they've been working on writing new songs and plan on recording in April 2003. Once again they'll be recording with Brian McTernan at Salad Days in Maryland. The record should be out in late summer on Jade Tree Records. The Beautiful Mistake finished filming their first video last month for "On Building" with director Darren Doane (Jimmy Eat World, Blink 182, Thursday). It will be available for your viewing pleasure very soon! "On Building" has also been sent to rock stations around the country, so if you catch them on your radio be sure to call them up and tell them how much you enjoyed it. The boys also recently toured with Glasseater and will be criss-crossing the U.S. with Elliott and Further Seems Forever in coming weeks. Better Looking Records is preparing to release the much-anticipated 12-song full length by The Jealous Sound in May 2003. The band is currently in the studio with acclaimed producer Tim O'Heir (All American Rejects, Superdrag, Sebadoh / Folk Implosion, Juliana Hatfield, Dinosaur Jr.). Rilo Kiley, The Good Life, and Mayday will be heading out for a full U.S. tour in February/March. Fischerspooner will release #1 in the U.S. on February 25th via Capitol Records. The CD will also include a DVD, which features the artists' own film work and videos, live performance footage, and a documentary. Ja Rule is hitting the road with Eve for more than a month of dates, which begin January 29 and wrap up March 2. Jurassic 5's Chali 2na is two songs into recording a solo album. The rapper told the Los Angeles Times the LP would explore a variety of sounds outside of hip-hop. The Walkmen will be doing a two-week tour of the West Coast starting January 23 in Vancouver and wrapping up February 7 in Seattle. After that, the band will hit the studio to record its second album. Fans of Mike Patton and Faith No More can look forward to the January 28 release of This Is It: The Best of Faith No More, featuring extensive liner notes from all of the defunct Bay Area, California, band's members and 19 tracks spanning 1985-1997, including "We Care a Lot" (with original vocalist Chuck Mosely), "Epic," "The Perfect Crime" and their cover of the Commodores' "Easy." Sigur Rós have added a 16-date tour of the U.S. onto their forthcoming February, 15-day European jaunt. The quartet will embark on their second US tour in support of ( ), beginning mid-March. Brendan Benson Ben Kweller will be touring the U.S. from February 1st to the 26th. Centro-Matic and Brendan Benson will also join the tour as supporting acts. Slowdance Records recently announced the addition of a new band, the Portland/Olympia based The Intima. According to Slowdance, The Intima play passionate, artful, epic gypsy punk with an emergent dance-beat feel. Peril & Panic, their debut release for Slowdance, will be out this March, with 180gram LP vinyl being provided by Collective Jyrk and Zum. Come March the band is heading out on a massive USA tour. In December, Tora! Tora! Torrance! entered the studio to record a new multi-media E.P. titled The Heatstroke. Militia Group was so stoked on what they came up with that the Minneapolis boys are heading back in the studio to finish off the project as a full-length slated for a June release. The split CD between Blueline Medic, Midtown, Recover and Silent*Corporation dubbed New.Old.Rare is Fueled By Ramen's first release of the year and drops on January 28. Recover offer up an unreleased track, Midtown give you an acoustic track, and Blueline Medic present a cover of a Tori Amos song. Pittsburgh's Punchline! was recently added to Fueled By Ramen's roster. FBR will release Punchline's The Rewind E.P. on February 25th. Then they'll be heading out on tour at the end of the month with Chicago rockers Fall Out Boy. The debut album from professional street skateboarder Chad Muska, MuskaBeatz, will be released exclusively to skate shops on February 11. The disc features songs written and performed by an impressive array of hip-hop legends, including Prodigy from Mobb Deep, Guru, Flavor Flav, Raekwon, KRS-One, Biz Markie, Afrika Bambaataa, Ice-T, Grandmaster Melle Mel, U-God, Special Ed, MC Lyte and Jeru the Damaja. Rye Coalition are set to release a new E.P. called Jersey Girls on Tiger Style Records on February 18th. The E.P. was recorded by Steve Albini at Electrical Audio in Chicago, as was their previous full-length, On Top. Kansas City post-grunge math-rockers Shiner have decided to call it quits after a decade of making music. According to their website, the band's final show will take place at the Madrid Theatre in their hometown of Kansas City on January 25th. Ani DiFranco, Sleater-Kinney, Sarah McLachlan, the Indigo Girls, Tracy Bonham, Neko Case, Angelique Kidjo, Suzanne Vega, Dolly Parton, Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donelly are among the the list of female artists contributing rare and previously unreleased tracks to Respond II (January 21). Proceeds from the two-disc, 32-track benefit compilation for families affected by domestic violence will go to the Respond Inc. and Family Violence Prevention Fund organizations. Iron Maiden will return to the studio this month to begin work on their 13th studio album, producer Kevin Shirley posted on his website. The LP is expected to hit shelves before the end of the summer and a full tour will follow. A two-disc greatest-hits sets from the French dance/hip-hop label Source, Sourcelabs (The Best Of), will be released on January 28. With songs from Air, Daft Punk, Alex Gopher, I Cube, Mozesli, Motor Bass, Scratch Pet Land and DJ Gilb'r, the set covers songs issued between 1995-1997 on the pioneering Parisian label. Sparta, Glassjaw and Hot Water Music are among the bands slated to perform on this year's Snocore Tour. Although a complete itinerary is forthcoming and an additional band will probably be added to the lineup, the annual winter festival is expected to begin February 14 and continue through March 23. Nile will kick-off their Guitar World-sponsored 'The Art of Noise' headlining U.S. tour on January 17th in Houston, TX at Fitzgerald's. Support will come from Napalm Death, Dark Tranquillity, Strapping Young Lad and The Berzerker. The Buzzcocks recently finalized a deal with Merge Records and their new studio album, which will be called Buzzcocks, will be released on March 18, 2003 in North America. According to the band-homepage, the are in the progress of finalizing a deal with an English label which will be in charge of Europe and the rest of the world. Nitro Records has lately added a new feature to the webpage that allows users to listen to every single album, the label has released in that past. Basically, their whole back catalogue is available to internet users. According to the label website, Doghouse signed California's Limbeck and Gameface. No word on when new albums will be released, yet. Limbeck will be recording a full-length record this January at the Black Lodge Studio in Eudora, Kansas with Ed Rose. The final CD may be out as early as Summer 2003. Kansas City's Coalesce have called it quits again, because according to their website, they "aren't the same people anymore." But, the website reported that there will be a new band comprised of members of Coalesce to look out for in 2003. Gearhead Records will unleash its first "budget sampler" next year. Smash-Up Derby will feature a track from all of its releases, which includes records from the Hives, the Hellacopters and New Bomb Turks. Following two performances at Los Angeles' Knitting Factory with his band X, John Doe will set out on a U.S. tour in February, according to thejohndoe.com. Swami, the imprint founded Hot Snakes/Rocket From The Crypt's John Reis, will be reissuing Drive Like Jehu's Yank Crime. The reissue features the version of "Sinews" originally found on the rare Headhunter compilation Head Start To Purgatory, as well as "Bullet Train To Vegas" and "Hand Over Fist," two tracks originally released by the Merge label as a 7-inch. The new Dropkick Murphys' album is tentatively titled, Blackout and is due out this Spring or early Summer. The Dropkicks will enter the studio in January and hope to have the album completed soon after. The release of the new Dropkick Murphys DVD has been pushed back to 2004. According to the Ben Weasel homepage (www.benweasel.com), the Riverdales have re-formed as of December 19, 2002. US Bombs have a new record in the works and it's due out on March 11th. Covert Action is their third album on Epitaph/Hellcat. Rainer Maria's fourth album, Long Knives Drawn, hits stores January 21st. Also, Mates of State and Rainer Maria will kick off a six-week tour of the United States on January 30th. The Mars Volta have announced that none other than Flea of The Red Hot Chili Peppers will be playing bass on their full length debut. The album's release date is currently set for April 29. Iggy Pop has recorded two tracks with Green Day for his next album, due in the spring. The album will also feature the singer's first recording with former Stooges bandmates Ron and Scott Asheton since the band's 1973 release, Raw Power. Recover has signed with the Universal Music Group. Wesley Willis was recently diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia, a treatable form of cancer, according to the staff at Alternative Tentacles Records. Willis is currently undergoing treatment. Punkervision.net has just announced the release of an official split video and DVD featuring As Friends Rust and Strike Anywhere. The bands were taped at London's Camden Underworld in November 2001. The show will be released on DVD and VHS in early in 2003. Rise Against have settled in at the Blasting Room with producer Bill Stevenson, working on their upcoming record Revolutions Per Minute. Expect the full-length out in April of 2003. The new Death By Stereo album Into The Valley Of Death has been pushed back until April, 22nd. The band is back from their European tour and have announced that they have a new guitarist. His name is Tim "Tito" Owens, and he's replacing Jim Miner. The Killing Tree will be recording soon. Barring any final obstacles, they will be doing a split CD with friends Most Precious Blood to be released on Ferret Records. BYO's One Man Army and Vagrant's The Alkaline Trio will be headed out on tour in late January/early February. One Man Army is supporting their recently released Rumors and Headlines and the Trio are in the studio recording their next album. The Fruit Bats of Chicago, IL recently announced that their upcoming album Mouthfuls will be released by Sub Pop. It was produced by Brian Deck (Modest Mouse, Ugly Casanova, Red Red Meat, Califone) at Engine Studios in Chicago and will be out in April of 2003. Ryan Adams is the latest act to get the coveted opening slot on the Rolling Stones' Licks World Tour. He will join the outing for eight dates from January 10 in Pittsburgh to January 28 in Oklahoma City. Nick Cave and his band the Bad Seeds will release Nocturama, their first album since signing on with punk staple Epitaph's Anti imprint, on February 3. Singer/songwriter Ben Lee recently debuted material from his recent Australian release Hey You, Yes You at back-to-back shows in New York. The album is set for release in the States early next year, pending a domestic record deal. Among the new songs he performed at Fez in Manhattan was a track called "Hard Drive," which will appear on a forthcoming solo album from Lemonhead Evan Dando. With a brand new album The Ugly Organ set for a March 4th release date, Omaha five-piece Cursive will celebrate with a 24-date US tour starting in January. Former Rage Against The Machine singer Zach de la Rocha is working on a solo album. Artists rumored to be working with de la Rocha include Trent Reznor, Roots' drummer ?uestlove, Dan the Automator (Gorillaz), Roni Size, DJ Premier and Cypress Hill's DJ Muggs. Mary Hansen, singer/guitarist of Stereolab died in December at the age of 36. She was hit by a car while riding her bike in London. Liz Phair has nearly completed her first album in more than four years in a Los Angeles studio. The follow-up to 1998's Whitechocolatespaceegg is being helmed by a host of producers, including the Matrix, and Phair herself is producing four or five tracks. The songs she previously recorded with Michael Penn will not be among the tracks slated for the as-yet-untitled album, which Capitol Records hopes to release in the first half of next year. Fearless Records is set to release Punk Goes Acoustic, a compilation LP featuring punk bands performing their songs unplugged. Bands on the album, which will hit stores March 13, include Thursday, Planes Mistaken for Stars, Rufio, Midtown and Piebald. Despite having been confirmed to perform on the December 9 episode of "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno," the band was yanked from the program's lineup after trashing the set during an afternoon soundcheck. While rehearsing "Outtathaway!," singer Craig Nicholls led the charge in smashing the plexiglass guard surrounding the drums and causing general destruction. The talk show will go ahead as planned without a music guest. Sweden's Division of Laura Lee are embarking on a U.S. tour this winter, with Burning Brides in tow. The 23-date outing starts January 15 in Brooklyn, New York, and wraps February 6 in San Diego, California. Joe Strummer, vocalist and guitarist of the Clash was found dead in his southwest England home on December 22. Officers on the scene believe Strummer died from heart failure. Galactic experimental Canadian rock band Godspeed You Black Emperor! will begin a 20-date tour on March 2 in Bennington, Vermont. The tour, to support the band's latest album, Yanqui U.X.O., runs through August 7 in Portland, Maine. According to Seattle weekly The Stranger, Your
Enemies Friends has moved back to California. The return home was
reportedly led by singer Ronnie Washburn. In other gossip, Nathan
Johnson reportedly decided to leave Pretty Girls Make Graves following
their U.K. tour. Seems he and Aska Matsumyia (Your Enemies Friend's
keyboard player) are expecting a baby. |
