Indie Rock
Stream The Strokes
The Strokes‘s new album, Angles, is currently streaming on the band’s official website. The album will be released on March 22, 2011, so be sure to support the band and pick up the new record in about six days time.
I Can Make a Mess Like Nobody’s Business “Pick What You Pay” Tour
I Can Make a Mess Like Nobody’s Business will be headlining a three week “Pick What You Pay” tour this spring, a new and innovative plan from Ace Enders, who we talked to last month after he raised over $30,000 via Kickstarter. The audience will be able to choose their own ticket price for the shows, an idea that seems extremely unique and risky for a cash-strapped musician, but also highly rewarding for the fanbase, which Ace is passionately devoted to.
The goodwill doesn’t end there, though. Each advanced purchase ticket will come with a limited edition signed poster and admission to a discussion session about the future of music with the band that will be filmed and included in a documentary to be released this coming fall. Pre-sale tickets will be available through Artist Arena starting on March 15.
Considering that the majority of a band’s revenue is generated through ticket sales and merchandise, I Can Make a Mess’s willingness to allow fans to choose ticket prices is extremely unprecedented. While the pay-what-you-want business model has been quite successful with digital album downloads (Radiohead‘s In Rainbows comes to mind), the same approach is new to touring and, actually, to the best of my knowledge has not actually been implemented before. With all the bonuses tied in to the advance tickets, fans of the band should be more than satisfied – the only question that remains is whether or not enough money can be generated to make a profit or at least break even. Best of luck to Ace and his band on their new endeavor.
Check out the tour dates below.
I Can Make a Mess Like Nobody’s Business “Pick What You Pay” Tour Dates:
5/17 – Allston, MA – Brighton Music Hall
5/18 – New York, NY – Studio @ Webster Hall
5/19 – Providence, RI – Club Hell
5/20 – Poughkeepsie, NY – The Chance
5/21 – Manchester, NH – Rockos
5/22 – Hartford, CT – Webster Underground
5/24 – Cleveland, OH – Grog Shop
5/25 – Lansing, MI – Mac’s Bar
5/26 – Chicago, IL – Beat Kitchen
5/27 – Madison, WI – The Loft
5/28 – DeKalb, IL – The House Café
5/29 – Des Moines, IA – House of Bricks
5/31 – St. Louis, MO – Off Broadway
6/1 – Covington, KY – Mad Hatter
6/2 – Pittsburgh, PA – The Smiling Moose
6/3 – Vienna, VA – Jammin Java
6/4 – Philadelphia, PA – Northstar Bar
Manchester Orchestra Announce New Tour Dates
Manchester Orchestra have announced a new set of tour dates, co-headlining with Cage The Elephant. The newly-added dates extends the band’s 2011 North American tour, which is in support of their third album, Simple Math, set to be released on May 10 via Columbia Records/Favorite Gentlemen Recordings.
Check out the dates below.
Manchester Orchestra 2011 Tour Dates:
April 29, 2011 — Memphis, TN — Tom Lee Park #
April 30, 2011 — Due West, SC — Erksine College #
May 2, 2011 — Kansas City, MO — The Beaumont Club ##
May 3, 2011 — St. Louis, MO — The Pageant ##
May 4, 2011 — Chicago, IL — Metro ##
May 6, 2011 — Cleveland, OH — Beachland Ballroom ##
May 7, 2011 — Rochester, NY — Water Street Music Hall ##
May 8, 2011 — Baltimore, MD — Rams Head Live*
May 10, 2011 — Boston, MA — House Of Blues *
May 11, 2011 — New York, NY — Terminal 5 *
May 13, 2011 — Providence, RI — Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel ###
May 14, 2011 — Philadelphia, PA — Theatre of the Living Arts ###
May 16, 2011 — Toronto, ON — The Mod Club ###
May 17, 2011 — Detroit, MI — The Fillmore *
May 18, 2011 — Columbus, OH — The LC Pavilion *
May 20, 2011 — Columbia, SC — Jillian’s *
May 23, 2011 — Orlando, FL — House Of Blues *
May 24, 2011 — Tampa, FL — The Ritz *
May 25, 2011 — Atlanta, GA — The Tabernacle *
May 27, 2011 — Houston, TX — Verizon Wireless Theatre **
May 28, 2011 — Austin, TX — Stubbs **
May 29, 2011 — Dallas, TX — The Palladium **
May 31, 2011 — Phoenix, AZ — The Marquee **
June 1, 2011 — San Diego, CA — Soma **
June 2, 2011 — Los Angeles, CA — The Music Box #
June 7, 2011 — Eugene, OR — McDonald Theatre **
June 8, 2011 — Portland, OR — Crystal Ballroom **
June 9, 2011 — Seattle, WA — The Showbox SODO **
June 11, 2011 — Salt Lake City, UT — Club Sound #
June 12, 2011 — Denver, CO — Summit Music Hall#
* with Cage The Elephant, O’Brother, and TBA opener(s)
** with Cage The Elephant, Sleeper Agent, and TBA opener(s)
# with TBA opener(s)
## with An Horse and Harrison Hudson
### with An Horse, Harrison Hudson, and O’Brother
The Graduate Vinyl Pressing
The Graduate‘s 2010 release Only Every Time is being pressed on vinyl by American Dream Records, a newly formed record label. The LP is being pressed on 140 gram vinyl and will include “Sea Legs”, an exclusive bonus track.
You can order on the label’s website.
blink-182 Charity Auction for Japan
Mark Hoppus (blink-182) is auctioning off rare blink-182 memorabilia, with all proceeds being donated to the American Red Cross to to aid relief efforts in Japan. The first item being auctioned off is a 1999 promo CD of the Enema of the State single “What’s My Age Again?”, taken directly from Hoppus’s personal collection. You can bid for the CD here.
UPDATE: The second auction has been posted. Mark is auctioning off the original lyric sheets for “The Rock Show”. You can bid for the lyrics here.
Foo Fighters Release Music Video for “Rope”
Foo Fighters have released a new music video for lead single “Rope”, taken from the band’s forthcoming seventh studio album Wasting Light. It’s vintage Foo Fighters, and with all of Dave Grohl’s recent comments about the band returning to its roots, the video is certainly quite fitting. You can watch below, courtesy of MTV.
Wasting Light is set for an April 12th release.
VEVO To Offer Free, Live Stream of Bonnaroo
VEVO have announced a partnership with music festival Bonnaroo, held annually at Great Stage Park in Manchester, Tennessee. The website, widely known for its music video streaming service, will be presenting a live and on-demand web cast of performances and interviews from Bonnaroo at no charge, courtesy of sponsors like Ford. Fans can watch their favorite artists perform live at Bonnaroo on the VEVO.com website, VEVO Mobile (iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Android), all VEVO connected devices (Google TV, Boxee), and VEVO’s syndication partners (YouTube, AOL, BET, CBS Interactive Music Group, etc).
It should be interesting to see how the live streams pan out. Will advertising be extremely prominent on VEVO’s website? My immediate guess is yes, as providing so much content at absolutely no cost to viewers will be quite costly for VEVO – especially when considering hosting and bandwidth costs. For advertisers and lesser-known musicians, this could be a great way to reach out to music fans – either to expose new artists or to advertise. We’ll find out soon enough.
Single: Explosions in the Sky – “Trembling Hands”
Track: Trembling Hands
Artist: Explosions in the Sky
Release Date: March 8, 2011
Label: Temporary Residence Limited
Four years after the Texas-based post-rock band Explosions in the Sky released All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone, they have finally released a new song. “Trembling Hands” is the first official single off of Take Care, Take Care, Take Care, the band’s sixth official studio album. If you’re already familiar with the band’s old music, you will know that this song is much different from their past work. First off, this song is no more than four minutes long, which is fitting for a single, but odd for an Explosions in the Sky song. Also, instead of having a long, monumental build-up, the song immediately starts out upbeat, with the drums kicking in from the beginning. Another thing to note is that this song has very faint, but distinguishable vocals. However, this song still has what Explosions in the Sky fans have been craving for for years: vibrant guitar riffs and ornate soundscapes. “Trembling Hands” is an energetic song which shows that the band has definitely changed their overall sound over the years. This song could be a good example of what the new album will sound like, but is it for the better? That’s for you to decide.
If you haven’t heard the song yet, you can download it here for free or below.
Rating: 8.5/10
Explosions in the Sky Pre-Order and Single
Explosions in the Sky‘s sixth studio album, Take Care, Take Care, Take Care is officially available for pre-order on their website. They have also released their first official single, “Trembling Hands”. Pre-order or download “Trembling Hands” at Explosion in the Sky’s website here.
Rooney Announce Headline Dates
LA indie rockers Rooney have announced dates for their “Not In My House” headlining tour. The band just completed a headline tour with Eisley this past February, but will continue to tour in support of 2010’s Eureka. If you haven’t listened,Eureka is Rooney’s third album, completely self-produced and an extremely fun listen, infusing West Coast breeziness with insightful lyrics.
Check out the tour dates below.
Tour Dates:
Apr 15 – Minneapolis, MN – University of Minnesota- Morris; Edson
Apr 16 – Iowa City, IA – Blue Moose Tap House
Apr 17 – Bowling Green, OH – Howard’s Club
Apr 19 – New York, NY – The Gramercy Theatre
Apr 20 – Baltimore, MD – Bourbon Street
Apr 21- Charlotte, NC – Amos Southend
Apr 22 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse
Apr 23 – Little Rock, AR – Juanita’s
Apr 24 – Dallas, TX – Trees
Apr 25 – Baton Rouge, LA – Varsity Theater
Apr 26 – Houston, TX – Warehouse Live
Apr 27 – Austin, TX – Emo’s
Connect