Matt Koziol’s official release for the CD “Heart On The Line” was this past Sunday at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, NJ. Whether solo or with full band, I have always been impressed with Matt as a performer. The band was especially tight Sunday night though. The room filled with the energy attached to the excitement of the new album. For those of you who were not able to attend or didn’t stop to pick up a copy of the album, you can download it on iTunes now. Pictures from the night will be available on Flickr as soon as I get a chance to sort through them all. Stay tuned to Twitter for more updates on that, as well as future dates you can check Matt out live.
Tag: new album
Jukebox the Ghost pre-order + tour
Lots of exciting things happening in the world of Jukebox the Ghost. First of all, they are going to be at Lollapalooza this weekend. (Knock ’em dead, boys!) This is just the start of what will be their “Yay our album has finally been released” tour. They’re probably calling it the “Everything Under the Sun” tour, but my title is what all the fans are likely saying. Full list of dates follows:
AUGUST
6 – Chicago, IL – Lollapalooza BMI Stage
7 – Chicago, IL – Official Lollapalooza After-Party at Bottom Lounge (12:30am)
SEPTEMBER
15 – Boston, MA – Great Scott *
16 – Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg *
17 – Baltimore, MD – Sonar *
18 – Charlottesville, VA- The Southern Cafe & Music Hall *
20 – Louisville, KY – The Vernon Club *#
21 – St Louis, MO – Cicero’s *#
22 – Little Rock, AR – Juanita’s Cantina Ballroom *#
23 – Houston, TX – House of Blues *#
24 – Austin, TX – The ND at 501 Studios *#
25 – Frisco, TX – Oysterfest *#^
28 – San Diego, CA – The Loft UCSD #&
30 – Los Angeles, CA – The Echo #&
OCTOBER
2 – San Francisco, CA – Bottom of the Hill #&
4 – Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios #&
5 – Seattle, WA – High Dive #&
7 – Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court #&
8 – Denver, CO – Hi Dive #&
9 – Omaha, NE – Slowdown Jr #
11 – Minneapolis, MN – 7th Street Entry %
12 – Milwaukee, WI – The Cactus Club %
14 – Indianapolis, IN – MOKB Presents @ Radio Radio %
15 – Pittsburgh, PA – The Brillobox %
16 – Washington, DC – The Black Cat %
* = w/ Via Audio
# = w/ Hooray for Earth
& = w/ AB & the Sea
% = w/ Elizabeth & the Catapult
^ = w/ Rhett Miller, Ekterklang, Bowerbirds, and more
Also, don’t forget to pre-order your copy of “Everything Under the Sun” while there’s still time. The album will be available to the public on Sept 7.
Arcade Fire – The Suburbs (A Review)
Arcade Fire’s new album, “The Suburbs” is an experience that is powerful both musically and lyrically. The songs are upbeat and energetic at times, mellow and thoughtful at others. “Half Life” has pounding music that feels ready to burst any minute. It resolves to “Half Life II”, which starts slow and builds back up again.
Another word to describe the album is “eclectic”. “Suburban War” has war-like drum beats followed by the next track “Month of May” which is more of a dance number. The whole album goes through waves with different levels and emotional tones to them. With such a variety of flavors to experience, I’m sure you will find a song for you.
Arcade Fire are currently on tour, and will be in NYC August 4th & 5th. The Aug 4th date is sold out, but tickets are still available for Aug 5th, according to Bowery’s website.Full list of dates can be found on the Arcade Fire MySpace. If you can’t make it to any of the shows, fear not! The Madison Square Garden show will be broadcast on the Internets (see Bowery site for details). The event will be an historic one, so you’re not going to want to miss out.
Alex Band – We’ve All Been There: A Review
Hearing the lead singer from a rock band make the change to solo artist, some might fear this will just be a watered down version of the former band. Rest assured, this is not the case with “We’ve All Been There”. Right from the start, Band shows his fans that he still has some rocker left in him. That’s not to say that this is just like The Calling but with a different band. Alex’ voice is recognizable from his days as frontman, but the sound is all his own. The album actually achieves a perfect balance that should keep fans of The Calling happy while also adding to that fan base and making it stronger. The album grabs the listener right away with the title track, letting them know that Band is giving it all he’s got with this one. Good to know, for those who have been waiting since he first announced his solo career back in 2005. These loyal follows have stayed with him through label issues and several delays. Five years later and they now have a new album to hold (which has been signed by the artist if they jumped on that promotion). And what an album it is, too. With each song you can hear the passion Band has for his craft. You would have to love something that much to go through the rollercoaster ride it has been and even creating a label, in essence building a home for the newborn child to live and feel comfortable in.
The album is entirely worth it (IMO) but a few songs especially stand out for me. One is the single “Tonight”, partly because I have had more time to fall in love with it and partly because it is just a truly powerful song. When the video was finally made available, I shared it with everyone I thought might be interested and played it a dozen times in the first day. In case you missed it, here it is again:
Another song is “Only One” because the chorus reminds us we only have one life to live, which I take a step further to mean we shouldn’t waste the time we’ve got left. This is a lesson we all learn at some point, but sometimes we need repeated reminders.
“Holding On” refers to “holding on to a dream and staying strong” – which could be the theme song for the overall process of recording the album and making it accessible to the public, the whole time fighting the urge to lose faith and not give up. Keeping with that theme, there is also the track “Love”, which proclaims “I’m not giving up… I’m blessed with love”. This is the sort of positive, uplifting message we need in difficult times like we have seen lately. The final song “Start Over Again” is about life bringing you down and being able to pick right up and start again. Or maybe Alex just subliminally is trying to tell us to start the record over again…. Hey, you don’t have to tell me twice!
After listening to the new album a few times on repeat, it’s time to enjoy them in a live setting. Now that the album is finally out, there are a series of tour dates to look forward to. The tour began on the West Coast on July 14th and will end on the East Coast on August 8th. The New York date is August 6th at Highline Ballroom. The complete list of dates can be found on his website, as well as the latest news the artist has to share and a bunch of other extras. You can also follow Alex on Facebook and Twitter as well. The album can be purchased on iTunes and his website, as well as certain local retailers. You’ve waited long enough for this one, folks – go buy your copy today!
Jukebox Rocks 92Y Tribeca
Jukebox the Ghost held a preview show for their upcoming album “Everything Under the Sun on July 13th at 92Y Tribeca. The band is no stranger to the city, and it showed in another enthusiastic crowd. The night was filled with mostly songs from the new album, but there were a few fan favorites selected for the second half of the show. First the crowd got to hear the new album in its entirety. The band thanked it’s audience for sitting through songs they were not familiar with, but there was really no need. Many of the songs had been played at previous shows (to the point where many in the audience knew some of the words), and the whole album sounds like it will be well worth the wait fans have had to endure. The album will be available to the general public on September 7th, but the single “Empire” is available for download now on their website (linked to above) or the widget at the top of the main page of this blog.
Jukebox the Ghost – Summer News Edition
Summer may have been unbearably hot for us, but it is heating up in a good way for Jukebox the Ghost. The band has a new album that will be released September 7th on Yep Roc Records. It’s called “Everything Under the Sun” and you can snag a free download of “Empire” from their new website (which is currently under construction but has a link to the download in the bottom corner). The band will be appearing in NYC on July 13th for an intimate show at 92Y to preview the new album. If you’re not in the NY area (or just feel like traveling) they will be playing a few festivals – Lollapalooza in Chicago, Forecastle in Louisville, and FLO Fest in Leesburg, VA. And finally, there will be a full album release tour in the fall, so look for more news on that. Not excited yet? Maybe this will help:
Jukebox the Ghost – Everything Under the Sun from Eyestar Pictures on Vimeo.
Jukebox the Ghost Album Announcement
If you haven’t noticed it yet, this blog really likes the band Jukebox the Ghost. We mentioned in our live review that the album would be out come early September. Now there is a video announcement with an official date and title, as well as a preview of one of the songs. The album, titled Everything Under the Sun, will be released September 7th. You can be sure there will be a review up here the day after it is made available to listen.
Jukebox the Ghost – Everything Under the Sun from Eyestar Pictures on Vimeo.
Jukebox the Ghost is currently on tour with Free Energy. Their New York date was last week, but they will be back in NYC on July 13th for a show at 92Y. Stay tuned for more news on this awesome band, plus all the other upcoming summer shows that might be worth checking out.
Artic Monkeys Can’t Stop the Beat
Artic Monkeys have been touring and enjoying the success of their new album Humbug for awhile now. So of course when the tour wraps up they are going to take a much needed break, right?
Wrong!
The band plans to get right back into the studio to start working on their next project. There are no details available yet, except their plans to do this. For those of us (like me) who realized their love for the band after they had already passed their home town on the tour, this is exciting news. Let me do the math for you:
new album = another tour
At least it probably does. Either way, new music from this great band is nothing to sneeze at. After all, they weren’t listed as one of my top bands of 2009 for nothing.
New New News
Lots of new music things for us to look forward to.
1) Wolf Parade is apparently working on a new album to be released in 2010. The goal is to have the finished product ready by the spring.
2) MGMT also have a new album, which is already available for streaming online. When you’re finished listening you can pre-order the album on their website.
3) The American Idiot musical is starting previews tomorrow. Buy your tickets today.
3.1) There is already talk of turning American Idiot into a movie as well. Seems Tom Hanks wants in on the gravy train. Thoughts on this? Good idea? Bad idea? Not entirely sure?
Lastly, don’t forget to program your Tivo for Lost tonight. The season is heating up, and there is still a lot more to discover about the inhabitants of the island.
Jukebox the Ghost Make Plans to Haunt the U.S.
Jukebox the Ghost, who have been working on a second record, are now planning a U.S. tour to share all their new tunes with us. Exciting news for fans everywhere. The list of dates is as follows:
March
03 – Boston, MA – Great Scott #
04 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom #
05 – Ithaca, NY – The Haunt #
06 – Westport, CT – Toquet Hall #
07 – Pittsburgh, PA – Mr. Smalls Theater #
09 – Ann Arbor, MI – The Blind Pig #
10 – Grand Rapids, MI – The Intersection #
11 – Madison, WI – The Frequency #
12 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall #
13 – St Louis, MO – Firebird #
15 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues #
16 – Houston, TX – House of Blues #
17 – Austin, TX – SXSW
18 – Austin, TX – SXSW
19 – Austin, TX – SXSW
20 – Austin, TX – SXSW
22 – Nashville, TN – Rocketown #
23 – Atlanta, GA – The Earl #
24 – Chapel Hill, NC – Local 506 #
25 – Washington, DC – The Black Cat #
26 – Baltimore, MD – Sonar #
27 – Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s #
# = w/ Tally Hall, Skybox
A short documentary about the new album is also available.