Gossip -- January 2004

Yaphet Kotto have just finished recording their 3rd full length, "We Bury Our Dead Alive", with Tim Green of the Fucking Champs. The record is slated for a late winter/early spring release on Ebullition.

After 8 years, Ultimate Fakebook have called it a day.

Kraftwerk and The Pixies are playing the first day of this year’s Coachella Music Festival in California.

The 14th Annual Tibet House Benefit concert hosted by composer and artistic director Philip Glass will feature ex-Talking Heads singer David Byrne, Kinks frontman Ray Davies, Bright Eyes, Keb' Mo', Yo La Tengo as well as a few surprise guests. The show will take place on February 25 at New York's Carnegie Hall.

Norma Jean has parted ways with their singer Brad. The band statement reads as follows:
" We would like to clarify that there is no hard feelings or bitterness between us. We love Brad very much. He is our brother. At this time, we all felt like it was the best thing we could do. both for the band, and for brad and his family."
Cory Putman, formerly of the band Eso-Charis, will be filling in for the group on their February tour of the UK [dates below], but no permanent replacement has been announced of yet.

Chicago pop punkers Fall Out Boy were recently in a van accident on their way to a video shoot. All the members escaped unharmed.

The Album Leaf, brainchild of Tristeza's Jimmy LaValle, has announced their signing to Sub Pop Records. LaValle will be heading to Iceland later this month to finish mixing their new record in Sigur Ros’ countryside studio. Sub Pop has set a release date of June 8th for the disc.

Hot Water Music is writing as we speak and hope to be in the studio in April, which means the record will be slated for release sometime in September.

Bleeding Through, Himsa, and Death By Stereo will be touring the U.S. together in March.

Thrice will launch a U.S. tour with screamo bands Poison the Well, My Chemical Romance and Moments in Grace on March 17 in Latham, New York. The trek, which will begin after Thrice return from their world tour, ends in Ventura, California on April 8.

Dirty Old Town, a DVD documenting a Ted Leo and The Pharmacists show from Coney Island, New York, last year, will be released on February 24th

Unearth will be filming for their upcoming DVD release (due out in May through Metal Blade) at the Downtown in Farmingdale, NY on January 25th.

Elliott drummer Kevin Ratterman has announced in the defunct band's Yahoo! Group that Revelation Records will be releasing a live CD/DVD combo of previously unreleased Elliott material. The CD will contain live, in-studio recordings of songs from all three Elliott albums, unreleased/alternate versions of songs from Song In The Air and False Cathedrals, and some B-sides and rarities that previously only appeared on compilations or limited-edition releases. Accompanying the CD will be a DVD containing live footage, interviews, and random tour moments from the band's last US tour.

The Mars Volta will be the opening act on A Perfect Circle's spring tour of the US.

The Anniversary officially broke up.

A Wilhelm Scream, formerly of Jumpstart records has officially signed to Nitro.

Deerhoof will be touring the US in support of Milk Man, their upcoming sixth record to be released on Kill Rock Stars/5 Rue Christine on March 9th, 2004, before heading off to tour the UK, Europe, Scandinavia and Japan, which will include an appearance at All Tomorrow's Parties in England.

NYC's Liars are having their record release show for their new LP They Were Wrong So We Drowned on Tuesday Feb. 24th at the Warsaw in Brooklyn. Also playing that night will be Chromatics, TV On The Radio and "special guests."

My Morning Jacket lead guitarist Johnny Quaid and keyboardist Danny Cash have left the band in order to devote more time to other pursuits. In a post on the group's Web site, original member Quaid wrote, "My country ass is now ready to go the f--- home." Cash offered a similar sentiment: "As much as I love the band and the music we make, it's just not worth sacrificing my home life." Guitarist Carl Broemel and keyboard player Bo Koster are filling in on the band's North American tour, which runs through January 31 in Washington, D.C.

Former Smashing Pumpkins/ Zwan frontman Billy Corgan will join Mott the Hoople frontman Ian Hunter, Giant Sand's Howe Gelb, Calexico and the Jayhawks in contributing to the two-disc Por Vida, a benefit album to help singer/songwriter Alejandro Escovedo cover his medical expenses as he battles Hepatitis C. The LP is due in April.

Every Time I Die return from their European Tour, they will be heading off on dates with Black Dahlia Murder, As I Lay Dying, and Scarlet throughout March and April.

Will Oldham's greatest hits collection will be titled Bonnie "Prince" Billy Sings Greatest Palace Music, and will be released on single CD and double LP come March 23rd.

Amid strong rumors of a breakup, singer Jason Gleason has announced his departure from Further Seems Forever. The band has since posted a message on their website promising that an official statement about the future of their band will be forthcoming. Among points of interest from the message is the band's uncertainty of performing on the upcoming Tooth & Nail Tour, which they were supposed to headline alongside labelmates Anberlin, Watashi Wa, Mewithoutyou, and Emery.

Victory Records has announced that Atreyu's debut album, Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses, will be re-released come March 9th. The label says that the album will have new packaging and come with a companion DVD. The DVD is said to contain a live set from the Showcase Theatre, Behind the Scenes Footage, Videos for “Ain't Love Grand” and “Lip Gloss and Black” and Cribs-style footage of the band's homes. The ban’s new album, The Curse, is set to drop in June.

The Unicorns have been in the studio, completing two new tracks. The songs, titled "20:14" and "Emasculate the Masculine," are planned for a seven-inch on Suicide Squeeze Records, tentatively set for a March 20th release date.

Thrice hit the road to embark on a two-and-a-half month international tour. Stops include Hawaii, Japan, Australia, the UK, much of Europe, and, of course, the states.

Hot Rod Circuit announced recently that they parted ways with drummer Mike Poorman, due to Poorman wanting to pursue a full time career producing and recording bands in Boston. The band has already replaced Poorman and is already back in the studio working on a follow-up to 2002's Sorry About Tomorrow.

Downset will release their first full-length album since 2000's Epitaph release Check Your People soon. The album is titled, Universal and will be out in March on Hawino Records.

The Hives have finished their follow-up album to Veni Vidi Vicious and submitted it to their new label, Polydor/Universal, who then promptly rejected it. The group's been sent back into the studio to record more "singles.”

The Wrens will hit the road for 30 dates beginning January 17 and running through April 8. Stops in Columbus and Cincinatti are among the dates, though venues aren’t confirmed yet

Grand Royal, the defunct record label once run by the Beastie Boys, has surfaced as an asset up for sale on a bankruptcy auction site ( www.bid4assets.com). Highest bidders would get master recordings, licensing agreements and miscellaneous merchandising agreements. The auction has been going on since December 5, but with less than two weeks remaining, nothing has been placed.

Swedish rock band Soundtrack of Our Lives will release their fourth album on April 28. The yet-untitled record was self-produced.

Some kids in Dayton are putting on the first ever Not Much More Than Music Fest in June (4-6). The website address is: http://www.vivalavinyl.org/notmuchmore/. Confirmed bands are as follows: Carrion, Dead City, Dead Letter Auction, Dept. of Homeland Security, Forensics, Gun Medal Gray, He Who Corrupts, Hugs, Kodan Armada, Lickgoldensky, Paul Michel, Pretty Faces, Rats Into Robots, Searchingforchin, Sinaloa, Stop It!!, Textbook Traitors, The 8bit Revival, The Clancy Six, The Dead Hate The Living, The Dream Is Dead, The Fugue, The Holy Mountain, The Minus Tide, Tumor Feast, Turn Around Norman, Tyranny of Shaw, Van Johnson and Welcome The Plague Year. Be watching Bettawreckonize for a preview.

The Neptunes’ Pharrell Williams will launch a new shoe and clothing line through Reebok starting this summer.

Streetlight Manifesto has announced a nine-show tour in February. The shows are mainly on the East Coast, with one date in Chicago.

Actress Kate Hudson and musician Chris Robinson recently announced the birth of their son, Ryder Russell Robinson.

Avenged Sevenfold, IMA Robot and the Beautiful Mistake are the latest additions to this summer's Vans Warped Tour lineup.

Heard from a pretty reliable source that Dreamworks Records is getting shut down and is merging with Interscope. Everyone is getting canned aside from five of the A and R folks.

As previously reported on NME.COM, The Datsuns headed into the studio in November with Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones to begin work on the follow-up to 2002's self-titled debut. Jones is producing the band's second album, which was recorded at Jacob's Studios in Surrey.

Hatebreed frontman Jamey Jasta will produce the next album by Agnostic Front.

Secret Mommy (aka Andy Dixon of The Red Light Sting) will release a new LP titled Mammal Class on January 27th on Ache Records.

Zach Lind of Jimmy Eat World has announced that they've decided to split with Mark Trombino. The reason is unknown.

Finch has parted ways with drummer Pappas. Rumors were circulating about the former Finch drummer taking up drum duties for A Static Lullaby, but that position has been filled by former JamisonParker drummer Jarrod Alexander.

Prayer For Cleansing will reportedly be reuniting for a show on March 14th at Tremont Music Hall in Charlotte, NC.

Get Hustle, Liars and Young People are going on tour together in March.

Last month Between The Buried And Me drummer Mark Castillo quit the band to rejoin his former band, Bury Your Dead, full-time.

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival will return to Indio, California, on May 1st and 2nd.

The Catheters are in the studio with producer John Goodmanson (Unwound, Bikini Kill, Sleater Kinney, Blonde Redhead, The Dwarves, etc) recording their second album for Sub Pop. The album should be released in May 2004.

The Rah Bras three EPs (all remastered on one CD) should be released sometime this Spring. Sam McPheeters (Vermiform, Born Against, Wrangler Brutes) is doing the artwork.

Arizona punkers Scary Kids Scaring Kids spent the weekend in the studio recording demos for Interscope.

The Jealous Sound will continue touring throughout 2004. Look for a special vinyl release on Better Looking Records this year, which will include bonus material.

David Lowery’s two bands, Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven, will begin a ten-date joint tour on February 2nd in Tempe, Arizona.

The Red Chord has undergone some recent lineup changes as bassist Adam Wentworth recently left the group to join Premonitions Of War, while drummer Mike Justain is now playing with Unearth. Consequently, the band has added bassist Gregory Weeks (Beyond The Sixth Seal) and drummer Jon Dow (Dead Water Drowning) to their lineup.

Some ex-members of Yaphett Kotto, Dead And Gone, Talk Is Poison and Anasazi have started a new band called Look Back and Laugh.

Scarlet's Cult Classic hits stores March 9.

Red Animal War will be recording a new record in January with a tentative street date of May 11. The band's website has announced their new bassist/vocalist is named Jeff Meaningless. Jeff also plays guitar in fellow Texan band Shmunks For You.

AFI are bringing Coheed and Cambria, A Static Lullaby and Thursday around with them for a tour that starts February 18. Coheed and ASL will open through February 24, with Thursday filling in for the latter February 25 through March 9.

Black 47 will release New York Town, their first studio album in five years, on February 10th.

The Blood Brothers are going to hit the road again in February with Kill Me Tomorrow and Akimbo.

Bleeding Through crashed their van while traveling to Denver from Salt Lake City on December 13th. None of the band suffered any major injuries.

Velvet Teen has finished up recording their newest release. Slowdance says that the release will be in your hands in April 2004.

Mission of Burma are signed and set to release their next record on Matador.

Early 2004 will see the formation of a new exclusively metal label Blood of Tyrants formed as an imprint of seminal Indianapolis-based punk/hardcore label Happy Couples Never Last Records. "I have just passed up too many killer releases that I desperately wanted to do but didn’t think that they were logical or appropriate for the current roster of HCNL artists," said HCNL Records owner Clark Giles. "I have always wanted to find a way to support the underground metal scene here in the Circle City and abroad but have been hard-pressed to find an appropriate way of doing it while preserving the authenticity of two related but in the end "different" scenes. An imprint label dedicated solely to the classic authentic genres of the metal scene whether it be doom metal or grind-core was the only logical conclusion to preserve the integrity of what I am trying to do.” In March/April, Blood of Tyrants will release records by The Gates of Slumber and Harakiri, in April/May we’ll see a The Hidden Hand, Wooly Mammoth split LP with McCarthyism records, and in June, they’ll be releasing a Demiricous full-length. A website is currently in the works with plans for an early spring launch.

Iron and Wine’s new album, Our Endless Numbered Days, is due on March 23rd.

Victory Records has announced the newest addition to their roster, A Perfect Murder. The band is ex-Downfall of Man and A Death For Every Sin. Expect their Victory debut in April 2004.

Seattle-based label Suicide Squeeze Records has signed a deal with Chicago trio We Regazzi. The band will enter the studio later this month with producer John Congleton (90 Day Men, The Paper Chase) to record a full-length for the label. Expect the disc to be released in May.

Cleveland band Integrity have disbanded. According to Lambgoat, an apparent brawl at a Portland show earlier this month seemed to intensify internal conflicts within the band, prompting band members to go their separate ways.

Death Cab For Cutie and Ben Kweller will launch an eight-week U.S. tour in March.

The Dream is Dead and The Plot To Blow Up The Eiffel Tower will be teaming up for a European tour in September 2004.

Burnt By The Sun has announced a series of early 2004 Northeastern US shows in support of The Perfect Is the Enemy of the Good. BBTS will be playing with the likes of Premonitions of War, Breather Resist, and All That Remains.

The Decahedron (formerly The Black Sea) CD should be released around mid-April. The band is going to be doing some shows with Engine Down in February.

Vice Records announced that they've signed Panthers to their roster. This is presumably in response to the success of the Panthers/Japanther split recently released on Vice.

Slowdance Records has announced the signing of Michigan's Rescue. The label will be releasing the band's new EP titled Flamingo Minutes on May 4th, 2004.

Coldplay have recorded an acoustic version of the Pretenders' "2,000 Miles" and made it available on coldplay.com for download. Proceeds from the track will to towards the Stop Handgun Violence and Future Forest charities.

Billboard is reporting that defunct New York hardcore band Helmet will see it's best work canonized with Unsung: The Best of Helmet (1991-1997), a 21-track retrospective due out January 27th on Interscope Records.

The New Self Defense, with ex-members of Prevent Falls and Penfold, are currently writing material and plan to tour in the near future. Their website, www.thenewselfdefense.com has some MP3 demos you can download.

Bats & Mice is currently writing new material. They plan on recording an EP this winter to be released around their tour of Europe in May of 2004. Upon returning from Europe, they plan on recording their full-length and doing some touring of the U.S.

Bring You To Your Knees: A Tribute To Guns N Roses, a compilation put together by Law Of Inertia Records is scheduled for early 2004. Some of the bands involved include Every Time I Die, Vaux, Most Precious Blood, Dillinger Escape Plan, and Death By Stereo. The compilation is scheduled for release on March 9th, 2004.

Bright Eyes, M. Ward and My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James have lined up a ten-day tour for late February.

Early in 2004, Isis will begin self-releasing a series of live CDs, the first of which will feature a set from San Francisco during the band's recent tour with Mogwai.

On December 22nd, Detachment Kit frontman Ian Menard was assaulted at the Joe Strummer tribute show at Irving Plaza in New York after a botched attempt at covering the Clash.

Aaron Feibus, singer/guitarist of The Æffect announced that he will be leaving the band.

Super Furry Animals, Low, the Locust and the Detroit Cobras will perform at the twelfth annual Noise Pop Festival, set for February 24-29 in San Francisco.

Lovitt Records has announced the signing of Supine To Sit. The group, containing ex-members of Roadside Monument and Sleepytime Trio, will be releasing the band's eight-song EP this spring.

The Botch DVD is finally becoming a reality as the band has now found a label. Botch will be regrouping briefly in the near future to mix the audio and discuss packaging for the release. The DVD will reportedly consist of five cameras worth of footage from the band's final show in June of 2002.

Orange County's CodeName: Rocky have split up and as a result drop out of the earlier announced Ska Brawl 2004 Tour with The Toasters, Big D and The Kids Table.

Bob Mould of Hüsker Dü fame recently re-located to Washington and has several projects coming up there. He is appearing as a DJ at the 9:30 Club every Saturday night under the alias of Blowoff and has a handfull of solo acoustic dates scheduled for January. Mould recently made a cameo appearance on D.C. area children's show Pancake Mountain.

Speck and Yalan from Dame Fate recently moved to NYC but are still rocking. They will be playing shows on the weekends throughout the Winter and Spring. If you are interested in booking a show for them, e-mail them at dames@damefate.com.

We Are The Militia Group : Vol. 1 will hit stores January 27, 2004 and features 16 tracks with a ton of rare or unreleased material from all The Militia Group's artists. Inside one of the compilations will include a golden ticket of which the winner will be able to record a song that will appear on Vol. 2.

Blue Sky Goodbye are seeking a permanent bassist, and will be open to meeting with anyone interested. Please email paul@blueskygoodbye.com with a little bit about you and your musical history, and details about your equipment and touring availability.

The Strokes are set to tour North America in February and March.

A limited-edition Slayer sneaker called Old Skool will be issued by Vans in the spring. The shoe is black with the band's logo in red across the tongue and the back. And the side of the sole is splattered with fake blood.

The word on the street is that Morrisey is back in the studio recording music for a new album due out around May of next year. He’s currently working with Jerry Finn, a man who produces the likes of Green Day, AFI, MxPx, and Rancid. The new record will be released on Sanctuary Records.

Three members of Orange County's Throwdown have formed side projects: the Lost, a band in the vein of HIM and Mötley Crüe, features bassist Dom Macaluso and guitarist Tommy Love, while the a Perfect Circle-inspired Medic includes singer Dave Peters on guitar. Throwdown recently embarked on tours of Japan and the U.K.

Engine Down will be going into the studio in the next few weeks to work on their newest full-length. They will be doing a full U.S. tour in February. Show dates should be posted soon.

Damien Done, featuring former As Friends Rust frontman Damien Moyal, has signed with Belgium's Goodlife Recordings. He has finished work in the studio with Rocking Horse Winner drummer Matt and James Paul Wisner on his debut solo record. The Damien Done Love Thongs CD + DVD will be out on Good Life sometime this spring.

Pennsylvania's Lickgoldensky will be recording a new full-length in January, which they plan to release with Level Plane Records in mid-2004. Lickgoldensky side-project, Get Fucked, which features ex-members of LGS, The Now, and Neil Perry, will be releasing a 10"/CD in February. Look for the group on the road with Hot Cross on the East Coast beginning in late-December.

Revelation Records act Shai Hulud have annouced dates for their Japanese tour and West Coast shows in January. The band will be headed overseas for their first tour of Japan with Geert handling the vocal duties. Upon returning to the States, Shai Hulud will play four shows in California reuniting with vocalist Chad Gilbert.

Revelation will also be releasing it's first ever picture disc for Shai Hulud's That Within Blood Ill-Tempered in February 2004. It will be a limited edition release (1000 copies) and features artwork by famed artist Derek Hess.

A Luna Red have called it quits. The good news is that Jack Duckworth (also of Radio Berlin) is involved in a new project called Primes, which also includes his former bandmate Bill (ex-ALR, currently of Droom) and a mysterious electro-DJ named Michelle.

In the wake of their singer's split to join Zao, the remaining members of Society's Finest have formed the Kinetic Sense and are looking for a singer in the Dallas area.

Junction 18, Tokyo Rose and Still Life Project will be starting off 2004 by hitting the road in January and February.

Volcano, I'm Still Excited!! have signed to Polyvinyl Records, with a self-titled debut in the can and ready for release on February 3rd, 2004.

Stillborn records recently added Florida's The Autumn Offering to their roster.

Following their New Year's gig at The Beachland in Cleveland the Party of Helicopters will be breaking in the new bassist and writing material for its next Velocette release. POH is shooting for a late September '04 release, but since the band currently doesn't even have rehearsal space, it will be starting from scratch.

The Mars Volta are currently demoing new tracks at a recording studio to for their next album.

Desaparecidos announced that they will not be able to finish the writing and recording of their new record for spring 2004. This also means they’ll will be unable to take part in the Plea for Peace tour with Cursive.

Jonah Matranga has completed working on Onelinedrawing’s follow-up to 2002's Visitor. The Volunteers LP/CD, which is slated to be released on March 16, 2004, will feature liner notes written by Geoff Rickly of Thursday and cover art reminiscent of an antique book.

Happy Couples Never Last have signed added a new band to the roster, a group known as HUGS. Check their site for that release http://hugskill.tripod.com and head over to www.hcnl.com for more info on when they'll be releasing their next record.

Challenger’s debut, Give People What They Want In Lethal Doses LP/CD will be released on February 17, 2004.

Sworn Enemy will be hitting the road again in January. Himsa and As I Lay Dying will be supporting the tour.

The Living End are scheduled to drop their fourth album, Modern Artillery, on February 24.

The Lostprophets have choosen The Bronx to follow them out on the road for there upcoming UK tour that is supposed to take off in February.

Dim Mak Records has just signed the label’s second hip hop act, Libretto. The first single, which will be released in early March with a full length to follow, is being recorded as we speak. Dim Mak will also be releasing a split single featuring The Gossip and Tracy & The Plastics, a new record by Battles (which was recorded Puff Daddy's studio), a record by the Swedish band Dollhouse (which is being produced by Michael Davis of MC5) and the full length by Das Oath.

Instruction, Quicksand guitarist Tom Capone's new band with members of Errortype:11, are recording in Los Angeles. Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd, Jane's Addiction) is producing.

Victory has announced the signing of Dayton, OH's Hawthorne Heights. Their debut album should be released in the spring, and Victory has posted a demo MP3 of "Silver Bullet" on their sounds page.

Bifocal Media will be coming out with a new version of Braid’s video Killing A Camera, which is now only available on VHS. KAC DVD will feature another 30-60 minutes of new interviews, songs that never made it on the original VHS version, and extra non-playing stuff that didn't make it into the VHS version of the flick. Expect this to be ready to go by summer

Elvis Costello and jazz singer/pianist Diana Krall were married on December 6th in London.

Until The End will be entering Studio 13 with Jeremy Staska (Poison the Well, Marilyn Manson,etc.) to record their upcoming as-of-yet untitled full length CD. The recording will take place in January, and the record should hit stores in March/April.

David Grohl will produce the major-label debut of New Jersey quintet Rye Coalition, who opened several shows for Queens of the Stone Age. Expect the album to hit stores in the spring.

Give Up The Ghost's website is announcing that bassist Josh has left the band. Guitarist Brian is currently playing bass for their European tour. No more was announced on the split.

My Morning Jacket will hit the road early next year. The tour will launch January 3 in Nashville and will run through January 23.

Senses Fail’s Let It Enfold will be released in March through Geffen.

Matinee Recordings is planning a Smiths tribute album titled, Romantic and Square is Hip and Aware. Contributors to the album include: The Pines, The Lucksmiths, Simpatico, and The Liberty Ship. Expect it out late December, available in stores by January.

The Zombies have lined up an eleven-date tour to begin February 6th in Stamford, Connecticut.

Boston's Converge are getting close to finishing up the writing process for their next full-length, You Fail Me. The band tentatively plans to record and mix the album in March and April 2004, with a late-2004 release expected through an unspecified label (apparently not Equal Vision Records).

The Darkness singer Justin Hawkins was detained by police for two hours at New York's Kennedy Airport recently because the cops were searching for a wanted criminal who shared his name. The frontman was freed after the band's manager showed police the group's tour schedule, which indicated that Hawkins was performing in England on July 4, the night of the crime.

Deep Elm Records has completed the lineup for Chapter 10 of its Emo Diaries compilations. Chapter 10 will conclude the long running series, and will be released on the 16th of March, 2004.
Deep Elm are now accepting demos for their new compilation series, This is Indie Rock. The label states that "each volume will contain 12 to 15 unreleased songs from the hottest indie rock bands in the world...be they hardcore, punk, emo, metal, pop, etc. Submission is now open to any independent band, signed or unsigned.

Saddle Creek will be releasing a shit-load of new records next year, including: Azure Ray’s New Resolution CD Single, Now It’s Overhead’s Fall Back Open CD, a Broken Spindles full-length, a Rilo Kiley full-length, The Good Life’s new EP, a full-length by The Faint, a Cursive b-sides collection, a Bright Eyes single or EP, and a Son, Ambulance full-length.

Boston's There Were Wires are now on a temporary hiatus following an injury to guitarist Thomas Moses. Apparently Moses had three fingers nearly severed in a work related accident that required nine hours of surgery to successfully reattach his fingers. It appears that Moses will make a full recovery and eventually regain total use of the affected fingers. All There Were Wires shows have been canceled until further notice.

Interpol have returned to the studio.

Modest Mouse's latest record has been titled Good News For People Who Love Bad News. The record will drop March 30th on Epic Records.

Dag Nasty will begin working on a new record next Spring after Brian Baker finishes recording the upcoming Bad Religion album. In other Nasty news, Dave Smalley's first book The Last Brigade: 20 Songs from 20 Years of Punk Rock, a compliation of favorite lyrics and their stories, is now available via Never Surrender Publishing.

Although March will see the European release of In Flames' Soundtrack to Your Escape, the follow-up to 2002's Reroute to Remain currently has no U.S. release date.

Zao have released a greatest hits album. The album will have three songs that are brand new and were recorded with former vocalist Cory Darst.

Pennywise will be packing up the van [or plush tour bus, whatever] for a few weeks' worth of shows in January and February. Stretch Arm Strong supports on all dates, Mad Caddies from January 21 through January 31, and Guttermouth from February 18 through February 29.

Ken Susi of Unearth has signed on to produce the upcoming effort from Massachusetts' Beyond the Embrace. The band hopes to have Insect Song wrapped up by mid-January.

4AD is prepping a Pixies DVD for an early 2004 release.

Tijuana Bible is said to contain ex-members of Samiam, Screw 32, Grimple, Blue Beat Stompers, and the Workin' Stiffs. The band currently has no shows lined up, but there are some sample MP3s available on their site.

According to drummer Jason Hammel, Mates of State plan to record and release something other than a full-length, possibly an EP, in 2004, then start work on the follow-up to Team Boo.

Premonitions of War have parted ways with bassist Nick Hale. The Ohio-based metalcore band, who are planning a West Coast tour in January with Curl and Die and Bury Your Dead, has yet to name a replacement.

Count The Stars have called it quits.

New York's Every Time I Die will re-release their second album, Hot Damn!, with a bonus DVD on February 24.

Superchunk has contributed a song to the Kill Rock Stars compilation Tracks and Fields, due March 9th .

The Honorary Title is currently finishing up their Doghouse Records debut album with producer Roger Moutenot (Joseph Arthur, Guster, Sleater-Kinney). This record will be out Spring of 2004.

Time In Malta are currently finishing up songs for their new album, which will start production in late-January. The effort will be released through Equal Vision Records.

The Divorce are now free agents after the demise of the bands label Fugitive.

Ace Fu recently signed Runner & The Thermodynamics. Look for their album to drop in March 2004. Ace Fu will also release the disc by Man Man at around that same time.

Death On Wednesday broke up

Sworn Enemy, As I Lay Dying and Himsa will launch a 16-date U.S. tour January 17 in Philadelphia.

After 13 years and 6 albums, indie rock pioneers Sense Field have broken up.

City of Caterpillar is no more.

Both Tamora and The Plot To Blow Up the Eiffel Tower dropping new releases in February. HCNL will also release a Majhas/ Racebannon split and Ice Nine discography in March.

The Starlits full-length album is still set for the studio early next year. Jenny Page from the Jackie Papers has joined the band on guitar due to Tara’s departure.

Dillinger Escape Plan vocalist Greg Puciato has formed a side project with Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz called Error. The band will reportedly release a self-titled debut EP on February 24 through Gurewitz's Epitaph label.

Last week, after just under a month of pre-production with producer Rick Rubin, Weezer began the recording process for the group's fifth album, the follow-up to last year's Maladroit.

Burning Brides just finished the new album. Leave No Ashes will hit stores early next year.

The original lineup of Duran Duran will launch their first U.K. tour in eighteen years with an April 13th performance at Wembley Arena.
Converge have inked a deal with Epitaph Records.

Mike and Chris from the All-American Rejects, Matt from Motion City Soundtack, and Neil Rubenstein (ex-Sons of Abraham) have started a hardcore / metal-core band called These Enzymes.

Cold Crush Records, run by Derek Fudesco of Pretty Girls Make Graves and Steve Aoki from Dim Mak, launched their new website recently. In their flash radio, you can check out a song off their Les Savy Fav 7" to be released in February 2004 and two tracks off the debut EP from Chicago's Mahjongg set for release next month. Visit coldcrushrecords.com for more.

Stop Drop Rock and Roll records is releasing a tribute to New Jersey's Lifetime. They have about four spots left, and are looking for bands interested in recording a Lifetime song. Please inquire at www.stopdroprock.cjb.net

Norma Jean will begin writing their new album, the follow-up to 2002's Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child, in January. They plan to begin recording the LP and touring the States in the spring following a U.K. run with Beecher in February.

The Bouncing Souls / Hot Water Music tour this February has been dubbed by the bands as the "True Bromance Tour."

Five more bands have been confirmed for the Warped tour next summer: Anti-Flag, Bad Religion, Bouncing Souls, The Casualties, and Yellowcard will all be making the three-month trek.

According to http://www.motorcityrocks.com, Jack White and Jason Von Bondie brawled during a recent Blanche record release show at the Magic Stick. No word on why the two were fighting, but MCR reported that White landed a solid punch to Von Bondies’ face.

Killswitch Engage are finishing basic tracks for their next album, their first since enlisting Blood Has Been Shed drummer Justin Foley and singer Howard Jones, who will begin recording vocals in the next few days.

February will see Blink-182 heading overseas for a 10-day tour of Europe. Motion City Soundtrack will be opening on all dates.
Shadows Fall has begun writing new material for their next album.

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