Author: Jerry Actually

Becca’s U.S. Debut CD

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BECCA’S U.S. DEBUT CD ALIVE!! TO DROP ON JANUARY 5TH

ON SIN (SONYMUSIC INDEPENDENT NETWORK)

KICKIN & SCREAMIN EP OUT NOW

2010 TOUR DATES TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON

“the stage presence of Joan Jett and Suzy Quattro all rolled into one 20 year old young woman with a bit of a chip on her shoulder and a edge that we’ve not

seen since those two artists hit rock in the late 70s”

– Young Poor And Angry Press, September 2009

Hailing from Portland, OR and now based out of Los Angeles Becca has already made a mark on the international music charts and she is gearing up to do the same in the U.S. as she gears up for the release for her U.S. debut CD ALIVE!! co-written and produced by singer-songwriter Meredith Brooks who had hits herself with such songs as “Bitch” and “What Would Happen.”  Becca’s ALIVE!! to drop on January 5 at all digital outlets and Amazon Disc On Demand via SIN – SonyMusic Independent Network.

Equally adept at belting out full-throttle, female empowering rockers as she is crooning big arena-sized power ballads Becca carves a melodic blast on songs like “I’m ALIVE!,” her vow to live life to the fullest in the wake of the premature death of a friend, and “Turn Up the Stereo,” a cautionary tale to her peers about the dead-end offered by non-stop partying as well as songs examining personal relationships, such as “Turn to Stone,” “Lose You Now” and “Perfect Me,” the expressions of an artist who is wise beyond her years.  Sugary enough to give you a tooth ache until she throws you a sucker punch to the gut!

Look for US tour dates to be announced soon.

ALIVE!! Track listing:

  1. I’m ALIVE!
  2. TURN TO STONE
  3. SHIBUYA
  4. Turn Up The Stereo
  5. Guilty Pleasure
  6. Kickin’ & Screamin’
  7. Lose You Now
  8. EMPTY
  9. Without You
  10. Make You Mad
  11. Perfect Me
  12. Falling Down
  13. I DROVE ALL NIGHT

Check out www.BeccaOfficial.com or

www.myspace.com/beccachanofficial

Follow her at twitter.com/BeccaUSA

Epitaph to Re-issue Classic Blood Brothers

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Indie-hardcore Heroes’ Influential albums Revisited and Re-issued
Like Never Before

October 20, 2009 – Los Angeles, CA. – Epitaph Records announces plans to re-issue The Blood Brothers’ classic albums “Burn, Piano Island, Burn,” “Crimes,” “Young Machetes” and “March On Electric Children” on November 17. The CD and digital re-issues will include rare previously unavailable live tracks and videos, music videos and B-sides for the ultimate collectors’ edition.

From 1997 to 2007, The Blood Brothers’ “molotov mixture of suburb surrealism and sonic extremity” (Alternative Press, 2003) rocked and riveted critics and fans around the world. Formed in the suburbs of Seattle, the dueling singers Johnny Whitney and Jordan Blilie along with Cody Votolato (guitar), Morgan Henderson (bass) and Mark Gajadhar (drums) crafted a unique style of convulsive, ground breaking hardcore that was quickly embraced by critics and fans of punk, hardcore and indie rock.

Over their ten years in existence the quintet released five critically acclaimed studio albums (four of which Epitaph is re-issuing), including Burn, Piano Island, Burn, “the most prolific, beautiful, and vital statement of rock since the Stooges’ Raw Power” (PopMatters, 2003), Crimes, the sturdiest bridge between the hardcore underground and indie-rock elitists” (Alternative Press, 2004) and “one of the best of 2006” (PopMatters, 2006), Young Machetes.
Having moved on to other projects, Whitney and Votolato with indie-rockers Jaguar Love and Blilie, Gajadhar and Henderson with post-punk outfit Past Lives, The Blood Brothers called it quits at their creative peak, leaving behind a catalog the helped define a genre and continues to influence bands around the world.

Continue reading Epitaph to Re-issue Classic Blood Brothers

Skarhead – Drugs Music & Sex

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Skarhead’s brand new album “Drugs, Music & Sex” hits US stores on November 17th!

Skarhead was founded in 1995 by Lord Ezec and the EP “Drugs, Money, Sex” was released that same year. Their follow up album, “Kings At Crime” took the worldwide hardcore scene by storm in 1999 and instantaneously became one of the all time classic hardcore records. Today 10 years after the release of “Kings At Crime” Lord Ezec, a street fighting legend from Queens and leader in the hardcore community, is back as frontman of the world’s most infamous hardcore bands!

“Drugs, Music & Sex” is already a classic and Ezec has managed to record another timeless album for those who love a good blend of street brutality and the most ignorant hardcore party anthems a band can create. A record with yet another impressive and distinct list of collaborations featuring some of hardcore’s greatest from the now and legends from the past such as Freddy Cricien, CIV, Eddie Leeway, Jamey Jasta and Armand from Sick Of It All, to name only a few. Thirteen brand new tracks that will shake the fundaments of the hardcore, metal and punk scene!!!

Nekromantix On Tour With Rob Zombie

October 14, 2009 – Los Angeles, CA. – Revered psychobilly trio Nekromantix will be taking their hellacious stage show on the road, joining horror-rock legend Rob Zombie for a cross country spree of mayhem and menace on the Hellbilly Deluxe 2 Tour starting October 29. The tour will also feature Captain Clegg & the Night Creatures last seen rocking a murderous Michael Myers in the recent drive-in classic “Halloween II.”

Fronted by flattopped bandleader Kim Nekroman and his beloved coffin bass, the Nekromantix and their furious sinister sound will help ignite this depraved rock and roll freak show as it detonates in the heat scorched metropolis of Phoenix on October 29th, before rocking the fleshpots of Las Vegas and descending on the decadent streets of Hollyweird and beyond.
Continue reading Nekromantix On Tour With Rob Zombie

BYO – Let Them Know

(c) 2009 BYO Records
[rating:4/5]

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byo_let_them_knowThe good folks at BYO Records were kind enough to send me their new retrospective CD and DVD release, “Let Them Know – The Story of Youth Brigade and BYO Records”. In several words, totally flippin’ rad. Back eons ago in the hard-scrabble Los Angeles Punk rock scene there was a handful of bands, no organization and nothing even close to the internet to get the word out about the minds music and attitude of the American youth. They desperately needed something.

To fill that void, the Brothers Stern formed the Better Youth Organization as a way to form something positive out of the haphazard scene at the time. It was half built on ideals as a means to makes something positive out of the boredom of youth and half built with bored youth that needed something more positive. Through dedication and the true spirit of DIY, BYO and Youth Brigade carried the torch to bring the punk scene out of its fledgling state of loose knit neighborhood punk gangs and into a force to be reckoned with.
Continue reading BYO – Let Them Know

Tour Report

I went and saw Classics of Love and Andrew Jackson Jihad last night at the Radio Room in San Diego. Hands down the best show I’ve seen this year. Classics of Love had some much energy and totally tore up their set. They also threw some classic Operation Ivy and Common Rider material. I was blown away.

Andrew Jackson did not disappoint either. For a two-piece band their sound was pretty immense. I have to thank my brother-in-law Mike for knowing that the show was going on in the first place. If it weren’t for him I wouldn’t have even known that it was going on. Overall it worked out to be a pretty damn good day, especially if you consider that we didn’t even have tickets and the show was sold out.

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Alex Gomez – Love Sex & Drugs

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(c) 2008 Alex Gomez

alex_gomez_lsdHank III combined with Jon Spencer, Maybe? Black Sabbath with a slide guitar, I don’t rightly know. Either way, I have this disc from Alex Gomez. It is chock full of some seriously raw electrified blues. It slides this way and the other. It shreds (speaker cones) a bit. It is raw. I’ll make you throat hoarse if you try to sing along. Honestly I’m not completely sure of what to make of it yet. I’ve had the CD in the car for a while and it seemed to work there when the Mexican radio wasn’t quite up to par. I’m listening to it right now after several blue ribbon awarded adult beverages and it keeps getting better. Let me tell you more though. There are 10 songs. They all sound a bit similar, but once you hook into the loose slide groove, they don’t degrade in quality for the duration. So I’m hangin’ on a sort of fence on this one. I can’t say I’m adding it to heavy rotation, but I’m not going to dismiss it either. You listen. You decide.

–Jerry Actually

Provoke – This is Real

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(c) 2009 Pee Records
[rating:3.5/5]

provoke_realSo I’m listening to “This is Real” from the Brisbane, Australia band Provoke and something occurs to me. Is globalization affecting music? I think that it is. This is some serious East Coast Hardcore. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing by any means, but I find it intriguing that so many miles and so much water can separate scenes only to have music that sounds like it came from the same mean streets that brought Agnostic Front or Sick of it All or Slapshot. Maybe, instead, it is something more universal. Maybe the bullshit blue collar upbringing, the angst filled days and hope-crushing nights affect us all in a similar manner? What if this is the natural expunging of a pain that we all feel? Before I go off on a crazy sociological tangent, I’ll try to rein it back in a bit. Provoke is a four piece (currently) band from Queensland Australia and have been bringing the heavy noise since 2005. “This is Real” gives up 10 tracks, nine of which clock in well under my three minute cutoff. The final track is obviously a ballad at 4:03 and based on that I won’t even discuss it ‘round these parts. As a final note, it is refreshing to hear some honest-to-goodness hardcore that doesn’t sound like you’ve heard all their shit before. Yes it rings true to what you’re looking for, but as far as this Yank’s ears go this is some sweet new angst. Go get this. If you need some help finding it, shoot me an email and I’ll see if I can’t help you get a copy for yourself.

–Jerry Actually

Death by Stereo

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I Scream Records signs deal for the European release of the new Death By Stereo album!
In stores in Europe on October 5th!!

I Scream Records signed a deal with Serjical Strike Records, Death By Stereo’s new label, for the release of “Death Is My Only Friend”, in Europe.
Laurens Kusters says: “We’re extremely excited to have Death By Stereo join our, ever growing, European roster.”

Since their inception in 1998, Death By Stereo has been balancing consciousness and chaos with their unique genre-bending amalgam of hardcore, metal and punk.
“Death Is My Only Friend”, the band’s 5th studio album, was produced & recorded by Jason Freese (Green Day, Jewel, Goo Goo Dolls) and mixed by Jay Baumgardener (Linkin Park, Evanesance). “Death is My Only Friend” finds the band’s sound venturing into uncharted musical waters and they have created the biggest sounding Death By Stereo record to date.
“We are excited to be at our new home at I Scream Records for our European release. Europe has always been important for us and we can’t wait to come back over.” ads the band.

The European release date for “Death Is My Only Friend” is set for October 5th!

Revolver : “this California hard core quartet continues on it’s tough but tuneful course, nestling blunt social criticism in melodies so upbeat it’s hard to believe the band is as pissed off as it claims.”
Alternative Press : “Ragers like “Welcome To The Party” or “Fear Of A Brown Planet” are reminders that few bands are able to combine melody and unbridled aggression as ardently as DBS-and for the most part, frontman Efrem Schulz’s operatic vocals manage to complement the band’s technically minded music instead of overshadow it.”

Death By Stereo will be on tour in Europe this November as a part of the 2009 Persistence Tour (with Ignite, Evergreen Terrace and more)
November 27th – De Mast in Torhout (Belgium)
November 28th – Turbinenhalle in Oberhausen (Germany)
November 29th – Klokgebouw in Eindhoven (The Netherlands)
November 30th – Backstage Werk in Munich (Germany)
December 1st – Gasometer in Vienna (Austria)
December 2nd – Posthalle in Würzburg (Germany)
December 4th – Garage in Saarbrücken (Germany)
December 5th – Alter Schlachthof in Dresden (Germany)
December 6th – Docks in Hamburg (Germany)

For more info: www.deathbystereo.com
Death By Stereo on myspace: www.myspace.com/deathbystereo

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Think Fast! Records

Think Fast! Records Signs Worldwide Distribution Deal with Trustkill Entertainment

Up and coming rising hardcore label Think Fast! Records has signed a worldwide distribution deal with Trustkill Entertainment. The label’s bands and releases will be in good hands with Trustkill’s global network of executives and marketing/distribution partners in the physical, digital, and mobile landscape.

“We’re very excited to have a label like Trustkill get behind our distribution efforts. Our new deal will allow a growing hardcore/punk label like Think Fast! to be spread on a larger scale and on a global level” comments Think Fast! co-owner, Ryan O’Connor.
Continue reading Think Fast! Records