Monthly Archive for May, 2009

SHOWS, SHOWS, SHOWS: SUMMER TOUR SEASON IS HERE!

No Doubt

No Doubt

As live performances become more crucial to the revenue stream of the full time musician, more acts—old and new—are going on tour this summer. And you can bet your bottom dollar that this summer’s tour season is chockfull of great musical acts to blow your hard-earned recession pennies on. Sugar Ray is gearing up to tour in support of their first new album in six years. Nineties radio staples like No Doubt and Blink-182 are headlining reunion tours. If Blink-182 getting back together isn’t enough to satisfy your penchant for pop punk power chords, Green Day will be hitting the road this summer as well.

Eighties powerhouses Blondie and Pat Benatar are joining forces to co-headline a U.S. tour — with the all-girl punk rock band The Donnas as the opening act, it’s sure to be a quality girls night out for those of you lucky enough to score tickets.

Phish's Trey Anastasio

Phish's Trey Anastasio

Quintessential live favorites such as Dave Matthews Band, AC/DC, Jimmy Buffet, The Black Crowes, Wilco and Phish are all on the road again much to the delight of their hardcore fans.

There are also plenty of up-and-coming acts and college radio artists playing shows that you can enjoy without taking out a second mortgage on your home. For Wolf Parade fans, frontman Spencer Krug’s other band — Sunset Rubdown — will be kicking off a U.S. tour in June. Still smarting because you didn’t get Animal Collective tickets? Sunset Rubdown’s Jagjaguwar labelmates, Pterodactyl, will be crisscrossing the country to console you. On the local scene, Boston’s soon-to-be superstar electro-pop outfit, Passion Pit, will be touring in support of their much anticipated LP, Manners. And finally, OurStage’s New York power pop rockers, Blameshift, are playing shows you need to check out before it’s time to go back to school.

Blameshift

Blameshift

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Reddit

SHORELINES END TO RELEASE NEW EP

Popular OurStage quintet Shorelines End is celebrating their new EP Cold Summer Night with an all ages CD release show this Saturday in Plano, Texas. Cold Summer Night offers five new tracks from the Dallas, Texas-based band—each song showcasing the polished yet rocking sound that’s helping the band gain a solid stream of media attention.

ltszkdqyrzub-320x240

Over the past few years, the band’s profile has steadily risen thanks to a front page feature on PureVolume, an invitation to play a label showcase as part of the Amplify Music Conference and, of course, an AOL Music feature from OurStage. Shorelines End may garner even more interest as they switch things up with their EP release strategy. Unlike Michael Zapruder, the band is releasing their disc before the digital album is available for download in mid-June, and this could very well be the key to get fans to forgo downloading since the CD is the only purchase option.


Make no mistake, Shorelines End totally own their sound, spanning genres from Pop to Alternative to Modern Rock. It’s the perfect mix to kick off a summer party, or to get you pumped up for one of Shorelines End’s upcoming shows.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Reddit

ON THE ROAD WITH CAROLINA LIAR

chadwolf

If you don’t know Carolina Liar by sight, you certainly know them by sound. The L.A. rock outfit’s smash hit, “Show Me What I’m Looking For,” has commandeered the airwaves thanks to features on MTV’s The Hills, 90210 and a new television ad from Overstock.com. We checked in with frontman Chad Wolf to get a glimpse of  life as a newfound touring rock star.

Best show so far?
Honestly each show is a pretty good time but right now the Ellen show was one of our biggest moments.

One thing you have to have on the road?
I carry a copy of the book “Immortal Man” with me everywhere I go. It just reminds me to create the world I want to live in.

If you’re the DJ on the tour bus, what are you playing?
Right now a lot of Thin Lizzy, Lady Gaga, Phoenix, some World Party maybe some Django.

Moment you look forward to the most at each show?
I generally find that about three songs in, everything starts to get really entertaining.

Current favorite song to play live?
I still like playing “I’m Not Over” – it gets rowdy.

Favorite way to kill time on the road?
Reading. I love to read.

Any show you’re especially looking forward to?
There are some big summer festivals that are coming up that should really be fun. We might play V Fest in Europe. It could be cool.

For more on Carolina Liar, check them out at www.carolinaliar.com.

Like what you hear? Then listen to these similar artists on OurStage:

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Reddit

ASCAP DEADLINE JUNE 1ST, OURSTAGE ARTIST OFFERS ADVICE

Five time ASCAPlus Award winner and self-appointed Pop Superhero, Cookie Cutter Girl is alerting all her fellow independent songwriters to join ASCAP and apply for the monetary award that is given to songwriters whose airplay and performances “fall through the cracks” of ASCAP’s royalty payment reporting system. If you’re a qualifying artist, you must act quickly as the award application deadline is this Monday, June 1st!

picture-11Lynn Julian, aka Cookie Cutter Girl, is the antithesis of her stage name and encourages women everywhere to break free from their cookie cutter molds and join the girl power revolution. Her girl power pop songs have received airplay on 500+ TV & radio stations and 30+ CDs Internationally. CCG’s latest quest is documented in the new comic book written by Lynn with the help of the “queen of licensed children’s books”, Justine Fontes. The comic book story follows a young woman’s superhero alter ego, Cookie Cutter Girl, who gathers the strength within every woman she helps in the form of pink energy rays and shoots them at her enemies to fight the injustices of the world. Check out Cookie Cutter Girl’s profile on OurStage to get the full story.

Cookie Cutter Girl has been selected for the ASCAPlus award every year since she joined the organization and is now on a mission to save the day for all independent songwriters. Join this Pop Superhero on her mission to support independent musicians and maybe win a little cash while you’re at it!

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Reddit

DOWNLOAD OF THE WEEK: HOLD YOUR HORSES, BOB!


OurStage artist Hold Your Horses, Bob! combines my shameless appreciations for all things Swedish and one man bands into one delightfully quirky package. With a playful mix of humor and music, Hold Your Horses, Bob!’s track “Put a Peephole in my Brain” is a must hear for fans of early Beck, Primus, and That 1 Guy. The man behind Hold Your Horses, Bob! is Peter Smith – a multi-instrumentalist based in Royal Södermalm, Stockholm who describes himself as a one-man-collective dedicated to “making music in the studio and acoustic gigs at small-venues”. If you dig this track be sure to check out other fine offerings from Hold Your Horses, Bob! on OurStage.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Reddit