Muse - Stockholm Syndrome

Kinda hard to get a sense of the skull-thumping bass in this song from the video. Moral of the story, buy a ticket and see em live. Playing tonight, March 8th, at The Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis

Five for Fighting - Earnest Piano Man

The misleadingly named Five for Fighting is set to hit the road this fall, fresh on the heels
of the release of their studio album ‘Two Lights’.  Their wistful, piano-driven pop-songs
hark an image of working-class Americans quietly pondering the state and future of their
nation.

The Band
Much like Chris Carraba is Dashboard Confessional, John Ondrasik is Five for Fighting.
He is chief singer, songwriter, instrumentalist and band member. A native-Californian,
Ondrasik studied music with his piano-teacher mother and took opera vocal lessons as a
youngster.  In melding these experiences, he sprung forth with soft and lilting melodious
tunes marked by his unmistakable falsetto.

The Songs
Most of Five for Fighting’s songs deal with that of the human condition: life, love, family
and despair. It was out of the despair of a nation, in the wake of 9/11, that Ondrasik burst
onto the public consciousness when he performed his twinkling piano ballad ‘Superman
(It’s Not That Easy)’ at the Concert for New York City. As he has become a more
outspoken opponent of the war with Iraq, Ondrasik has woven political themes into his
songs, most noticeably on the latest release ‘Two Lights.'

Five Minute Major
The name of the band is not a declaration of gang warfare but rather an indication of
Ondrasik’s love for hockey. When you get penalized for fighting in hockey you must go sit
in a box for five minutes, hurting your team’s chances in the process, thus: Five for
Fighting.

Paul Stanley - Starchild Goes Solo

A full 28 years have elapsed since his last solo album, but Paul Stanley hasn’t exactly
been resting on his laurels. Stanley has been plenty busy as frontman of hard schlock
rockers Kiss from the full-on hard rocking makeup era of theatrics in the 70’s to the
stripped down makeup-free days of the 80’s.  Still going strong at age 54, Stanley is set to
hit the road in support of his second solo effort ‘Live To Win’.

The Man
Born and raised in New York City, Stanley hooked up with fellow New Yorker and
music fan Gene Simmons in the early 70’s.  Stanley and Simmons shared songwriting
duties and were largely responsible for the band’s look and sound. It wasn’t long after
that their grease-painted faces and arena shaking anthems were resonating with the youth
of America and around the world.  The boys from Kiss won’t be joining him on this road
trip however, the house band that appeared on the reality show Rock Star: Supernova will
serve as Stanley’s backing band on the tour.

The Songs
As Stanley either wrote or co-wrote many of biggest hits in the KISS catalog, expect a
heavy dose of ‘Detroit Rock City’ ‘I Wanna Rock and Roll All Night’ and ‘Beth’ on the
set list.  The new material could be described as Kiss-lite.  You still hear those distinctive
Stanley vocals, but he isn’t shouting it out loud anymore.  Granted the man is entering
middle-age so the angst and tales of partying every day should’ve subsided by now
anyway.

Still Hip
A relentless touring schedule and constantly running from groupies can apparently take
quite a toll on the body. After two unsuccessful hip replacement surgeries, Stanley is set
to undergo a third after the fall tour.

OK GO - Video Helped the Radio Stars

While their radio-friendly power pop bent on resurrecting the likes of Cheap Trick, The Pixies and The Cars don’t necessarily set them apart from their similarly influenced peers, these Chicago rockers have the market cornered on DIY quirky videos. The success of the creative clips for ‘A Million Ways’ and ‘Here We Go Again’ (the treadmill dance) have become bonafide viral sensations on the web. With their reputation as a dynamite live act and the blogosphere tracking their every move, Ok Go’s upcoming tour is fast becoming the must-see show of the fall season.

‘Oh’ Yes
Despite the modest success of modern rock radio hit ‘Get Over It’ and major label marketing dollars behind it, Ok Go’s 2002 self-titled debut release failed to generate much buzz. Their sophomore effort ‘Oh No’, is chock-full of the same infectious pop hooks and sing-along choruses as the first. Suspecting a lack of label support for the new record, the band took it upon themselves to market their product, taking to the streets and more importantly to the web to get the word out. Their low-budget videos spread like the plague on sites like myspace  and youtube, giving the band international exposure.

Turning buzz into bucks
With the power of the internet behind them, the band was invited to perform ‘Here We Go Again’ with treadmills in tow on The MTV Video Music Awards on August 31st. Since that performance, digital downloads and album sales have increased five-fold.

Congress of Corruption Tour - Industrial Metal Smorgasbord

On the eve of midterm elections in this great country of ours, a different kind of Congress
is set to convene: a Congress of Corruption.  Engineered by Cement Shoes Records label
head Dan Catallo, the tour promises to put the sizzle and the spectacle back in the rock
show. With ticket prices set at $10 for the duration of the six-week cross-country tour,
metalheads will be getting plenty of headbanging for their buck.

The Bands
Labelmates on the Cement Shoes Records imprint, Godhead, Il Nino, and Ra comprise
the lineup for the Congress of Corruption tour.  The Washington D.C. based industrial
goth outfit Godhead burst onto the scene in 2000 when Marilyn Manson caught their live
act and was the first band to be signed to his Posthuman label. East Rutherford, New
Jersey natives Ra, come with a somewhat different outlook. They still bring a bleak
industrial metal approach, albeit sprinkled with a more melodic sound, reminiscent of nu-
metallers Staind.  Hardest of the bunch may be Il Nino, also from New Jersey.  Billed as
'heavy and melodic as possible with a Latin twist’, this group of headbangers combine
the speed and fury of thrash with the thunderous crunch of death metal.  Supporting on
the tour are newcomers The Dreaming featuring Chris Hall, founder of Stabbing
Westward.

Corporate Synergy
Why tour individually to support upcoming releases when you can promote three records
on one tour?  Godhead, Ra and Il Nino all have albums set to be released in the next few
months on Cement Shoes Records.

Supernova - Reality-TV Band Hits the Road

The winner of the CBS-TV reality show ‘Rock Star’ will be just that when he or she takes the stage with the rest of the band at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas on New Year’s Eve. This is the first stop of a 27-city tour that should include tunes the new band will record together as well as hits from the other three famous members of the band.

The Band
Supernova was born, not in the romantic traditional way of members placing ads in the Village Voice or meeting at a Bowie show in Hamburg, but in the conference rooms of a network TV studio.  With reality TV experience in the past and Motley Crue on hiatus, Tommy Lee was recruited as drummer and resident troublemaker.  With similar high- profile gigs under their belts, former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted and former Guns ‘N Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke signed on to complete the ‘supergroup.'  Collaborating with and producing the bands upcoming album is singer/songwriter/producer and former Marvelous 3 frontman Butch Walker, who has worked with such venerable rock acts Pink, Avril Lavigne, and Lindsay Lohan, among others.

The Songs
The new Supernova songs will largely be a collaborative effort with the current band members and Walker. Presumably, it would be in their best interests, and that of the audience, to work in some old Motley, Metallica and G ‘N R tunes.

What’s in a Name?
It seems as though the name Supernova is already taken by a California rock band, and they want it back.  The band has sued the producers of the show to stop using the name.

Gigantour- Megadeth leads army of metalheads

With the rising cost of putting on a full-scale tour, not even the dark, angry anti-establishment world of heavy metal can escape suckling on the corporate sponsorshipteat. The second go-round of the Gigantour, headlined by thrash metal pioneers Megadeth, will be brought to you by the good folks at Microsoft, more specifically the X-Box 360 game ‘Gears of War’. The 25-city tour kicks off September 6th in Boise, Idaho.

The Bands
Old-guard metal masters, Megadeth, thrashing since the early eighties, usher in a new wave of death and destruction, carrying the burning torch for the up and coming dutiful soldiers in the metal army. Dave Mustaine and company are joined by Lamb of God, Opeth, Arch Enemy, Overkill, Into Eternity, Sanctity, and the Smashup on the 2006 Gigantour. Not all bands play in all cities so check the official website www.gigantour.com for more info.

The Songs
If there is any doubt to bleak world view or state of mind of Megadeth, a quick perusal of  their song catalog should clear that right up.  With subtlety of an anvil bludgeoning you over the head,  “Wake Up Dead,’ ’99 Ways to Die,’ ‘Symphony of Destruction,’ and ‘Killing is my Business…and Business is Good’ properly convey what Megadeth is all about.  Behind that image of darkness and decay is some really fantastic guitar work being played at breakneck speed to further up the mayhem quotient.
Following this template, metal understudies Lamb of God show what they’ve learned on ‘Remorse is for the Dead,’, Overkill with ‘Playing with Spiders/Skullkrusher,' and Arch Enemy get in on the act with ‘Dead Inside.'

Back From the Dead
In 2002 Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine suffered a career-threatening arm injury that doctors predicted would prevent him from playing the guitar the only way he knew how, fast and furious.  He has since reemerged with a new Megadeth lineup and is on the eve of new album release for the band entitled ‘United Abominations’.