Collection of Random Things

So this is post is going to consist of a few random things, nothing that really deserves an entire post.

Thing 1. The new Anchor and Braille album "The Quiet Life" drops TODAY! They released a video for their song Find Me yesterday so check that out as well! The video is great (I adore Stephen Christian's fashion style!) and the song is fantastic. It is a plee for the quite life, for life to settle down but he realizes "it will never find me". You can pick up their album on iTunes if you please!

Thing 2. Rise Records is going to be announcing a new band that they signed this Friday! I'll post it on here but if you can't wait for me, check out their Facebook for the soonest update.

Thing 3. The Killers are coming out with a new album on September 18th called "Battle Born". They also released a video for their song "Runaways" which is featured on the album (of course).  I am not a huge Killers fan but I do like the video and song. It tells a story of two lovers and their journey through their relationship and life.

Thing 4. Cherri Bomb (an all girl punk band) does an interview with New Found Glory while they're on Warped Tour. The video is great so check it out right here.

I'll do a post on Cherri Bomb this week (hopefully) since I don't think they are too well known by the public. They have a full length out now so if you are intrigued after you watch their interview look them up! I'm sure they will appreciate it.

Whelp, that is all I have to share today.

You've Gotta Be Kidding....

So I was skimming the news section on altpress.com and came across this interesting article. (Link here ->HERE)

There was a drunk dude in New York trying to "sneak into a Nickelback concert" at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. Instead of actually getting into the show he fell 40 feet into the Geyser Brook Gorge. He will be released from the Albany Medical Center Hospital on Wednesday.

This story is sad for the dude but completely hilarious at the same time! Only a person who was intoxicated would EVER want to sneak into a Nickelback show. In my opinion, they suck. Like they probably are one of the worst famous bands out there. All I imagine are multiple Nicholas Cages performing as a unit.

And I should probably put an update on here...well I have no clue how my week is going to pan out so probably just short posts each day. I know one will be about the new Killers video (I forgot about it and will do that tomorrow or tonight!) but that is all I can really promise.

Thank you for skimming, reading, and passing by this blog! It certainly makes me glad that people are seeing what I am writing. Have a splendid Monday!

Imagine Dragons

I feel like I have a story for each band that I come across and Imagine Dragons is no exception.

I was listening to Of Monsters and Men for about 2 seconds on Spotify and under "Related Artists" one of the first bands was Imagine Dragons. I think I had seen other people on Facebook listening to them but didn't really care.  I played the first track on their 2012 EP "Continued Silence" and fell in love!

Imagine Dragons is a Las Vegas based band that began playing together in 2008. They are going to be releasing their newest project with Interscope called "Night Visions" on September 4th. 

I am surprised these guys aren't more popular, they have perfect music for the radio. Each song has potential to be on the top on Billboard's Top 100.  They jam like The Killers and Coldplay with their own fabulous twist. 

The EP opens with a bass dropping, "wub wub wub" with "Radioactive" which is just the kind of sound that appeals to so many teens and young adults. Track 2 is called "Demons" which has a completely different flavor than "Radioactive". This song has calm verses with a rocking chorus and bridge that fans can certainly chant to at a show.  "On Top of the World" has an island feel, reminds me of Jason Mraz's hit "I'm Yours" video.  The song works perfectly with my Seaside Escape candle from Bath and Body Works.  "It's Time" starts off with a sweet mandolin solo and clapping to keep the beat. The chorus in this is great, telling the world that "I'm not changing who I am". I love positive messages in music! Their are also two more tracks but I want to move on with my day so I'm not going to talk about them.

Honestly, what I really love about the EP is that each track is totally different in style and sound. So many artists just play the same song with different lyrics for an entire album but this totally goes against that groove. Thank God for that! 

Check them out:

Facebook

Their Website (tons of info and videos)

Fit For A King

Fit For A King is a metalcore band from Texas and they have just been signed with Solid State Records. Congrats to them!

FFAK has been around since 2007 and released their first full length album in 2011 called Descendants.  They have been touring full time and have been awaiting the moment that they were signed to a high quality record label.

Their dreams came true and they are going to be working on their sophomore album which will be released in 2013.

Things of theirs to check out:
Facebook
YouTube (complete with music videos and live footage)
Tumblr

iMatter Festival

iMatter Festival, I have been told, is seriously sick. This happens in Elmira, New York and it is a collection of metal bands like For Today, The Devil Wears Prada, Gideon, and some lesser known names. All of this is free of charge to the public!

Here is the iMatter Promo Video with the full list of bands.

If I lived closer and I wasn't going to Uprise Festival I would 100% be attending. If you are debating at all about going just go! Great headliners and opening bands like Ace Augustine, My Heart to Fear, and The Glorious Unseen. (I've seen My Heart to Fear a million times and they are excellent! I'll havta make a post about them.)

Anchor and Braille Update

I had posted an earlier post about Anchor and Braille coming out with a new album on the 31st (so if you don't know who they are read my post!).

They just came out with a lyric video to "In With the New" and for me it sounds great. Stephen Christian's voice sounds good and the song is easy to catch onto.

On the way there will (finally) be the House of Heros album review, my opinion on Chiodos, and whatever else pops up on the Internet!

Project 86 New Release

Before going to college I had never heard of Project 86 until I met this kid who is obsessed with them. He had multiple shirts and posters, read books that the frontman Andrew Schwabb wrote, and is now working on getting them to recognize him at shows. You could certainly say that he was having the time of his life when I went to see them with him last September.

P86 is certainly a great band. High quality live show and powerful songs lyrically and musically.

On August 21st they are coming out with their newest project, "Wait for the Siren" which they produced themselves with money they collected from Kickstarter.

You can listen to their new single "Off the Grid" here at, http://www.altpress.com/features/entry/song_premiere_project_86_off_the_grid. Also on here has tour dates until the end of summer.


For even more Project 86 check out their Facebook and their multiple full length albums on Spotify. (My favorite is "Songs to Burn Your Bridges By", I love the song "Spy Hunter"!!)

Owl City Releases New Music Video Today!

So remember when I posted that Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen were putting out a song? Well the video came out today and I must say that I really like it. It is catchy, danceable, and the perfect summer song.

I am confident that I will be jamming to this well into fall.

Check it out -->HERE <---

Of Monsters and Men

Hello all! I just came back from visiting friends that I acquired at college for a couple days and was told about an Icelandic indie group called Of Monsters and Men. Interestingly similar to Of Mice and Men in name but their music is very opposite.

Their music is pleasing to the ear and the soul. It is not loud even with guitars, drums, and keyboard all playing at once. With having a softer dynamic level it makes them relaxing to listen to even when the song is more rockier.

 Is rockier even a word? I'm not sure, but I am going to claim that it is. Publish it in Websters!

They recently released their first full length album "My Head is an Animal" with Universal/Republic Records. (If you're in the UK you can pre-order it at http://ofmonstersandmen.is/.)  By clicking on their website you can also check out their video for "Little Talks" (this one is my roommate's favorite!) and their tour dates through September.

For more information check them out on Facebook and listen to their music of Spotify.

Owl City and Carly Rae Jepson Recorded a Song

I was scrolling through the news page on altpress.com (all information in this post is from this site) and saw that Adam Young of Owl City and Carly Rae Jepson (the singer of "Call Me Maybe) are releasing a song together on Owl City's new album.

The song is called "Good Time" and by clicking HERE you can see the incredibly short, 17 second long teaser for the video. The song will be released on July 24th.

Can't wait that long to experience some new Owl City stuff? Check out his new video Shooting Star from his new album "Midsummer Station"which drops on August 21st. Pre-orders are up for sale now with multiple bundle options.

P.S.- I watched half of the Shooting Star video and liked the video more than the song. The video is from an uncommon viewpoint and the song is typical, nothing out of the ordinary Owl City.

Of Mice and Men 3 New Songs!

One of Rise Records more popular bands, Of Mice and Men are rereleasing their album "The Flood" and are adding three new tracks to the album.

Check out all three songs here, courtesy of Alternative Press, in one place: http://www.altpress.com/news/entry/listen_to_three_new_of_mice_men_songs

Hope you guys like them!

Life is Crazy!!

Life has been nonstop busy for me this past week. I've been working overtime at work, interning at a local radio station, and ranting and raving about the brilliance of The Dark Knight Rises (go see it!!). The rest of my week entailed trying to catch up on my many lost hours of sleep; leaving me with no time to contribute any music news or wonderful things to this blog.

Since this isn't an official post, I am going to unofficially promote a festival that I am going to be attending in September called Uprise Fest and it is going to be SICK!

Over the years it has grown to be a two day event and this year they have some killer bands lined up. For Friday on the main stage they have Switchfoot (when Switchfoot is on the ballet the rest of the bands don't matter) and on another stage I, The Breather and The Devil Wears Prada.  After all the shows end Jon Foreman of Switchfoot is doing an acoustic set!! I almost died when I read that he was doing this.

On Saturday on the Rockstar Stage it is amazing band after amazing band. The day starts off with To Speak of Wolves, Nine Lashes, and Flatfoot 56. Then in the evening things get even more awesome with Project 86, Oh, Sleeper (my favorite), and Underoath (the band that got me into harder music).

There will also be The Vespers, Skyhawk Drive, The City Harmonic, Tobymac, and Thousand Foot Krutch (TFK) on other stages.

This festival is going to be incredible and I hope that some of you reading this will get a chance to check it out. For more info you can click around at http://uprisefest.com/.

I will make at least two posts about the festival (one for each day) complete with pictures and reviews of the overall event and the bands' performances.

Switchfoot sings "Dark Horses" acoustic

Switchfoot is one of my all time favorite bands. Jon Foreman (the frontman) has a beautiful voice and writes wonderful lyrics even after being in the music industry for over a decade. Check out this live acoustic version of their single "Dark Horses" from their latest album Vice Verses.

 "Dark Horses" Acoustic

Mumford and Sons New Album

Just now, on a bright and sunny morning I stumbled upon wonderful news! News that I cannot keep to myself for much longer.

Mumford and Sons are coming out with a brand-new album!

Mumford and Sons is one of those bands that generally every college student loves, knows about, or is sick of hearing about.  My roommate and I adore them and have been anticipating this news since the spring.

The title is "Babel" and is going to be released in the USA and UK on September 24th. To check out the track list and receive information when fans can begin pre-ordering go to http://www.mumfordandsons.com/.

Wolves at the Gate

Sadly I did not have time to finish my album review on House of Heros new album "Cold Hard Want" (this weekend was a bit crazy). But that will be out sooner than soon! So instead here is going to be a quick post about a newer band called Wolves at the Gate.

Wolves at the Gate is a 5 piece post-hardcore band from Ohio. They've been signed with Solid State Records since '11 with a 5 song EP called "We Are the Ones".  They finally realsed their first full-length album on July 3rd with 11 songs that sing of the beauty of Christ and the redemption that He brings to His people.

   

I saw these guys play at Creation Festival Northeast this past June and they killed it! Their energy was high, vocals and playing were excellent and dead on, and they had Shane Blay from Oh, Sleeper sing their song "Slaves".

My brother and I also luckily got to meet the band and they were the nicest (and cutest) bandmates that I have met in a while! We stood around joking and chatting. I think that they were glad that somebody was really pumped to see them.

They are one of my new favorites and would love to see them get the attention that they deserve. If you're interested in their stuff, check out their latest video "Dead Man" HERE! 

Anchor and Braille "Quiet Life" Trailer

Anchor and Braille has been with Tooth and Nail Records since 2008 and released a studio album in 2009 called "Felt". Stephen Christian, the lead singer of Anberlin, has created this one-man-band as a side project to Anberlin.  Hopefully he will be gaining more notoriety with his new record, "The Quiet Life", dropping on July 31st.

On his biography page on toothandnail.com he had a really good comment about the album. Christian says, "These songs are just my passion. You can get burned out on the things involved with being a musician and Anchor & Braille allows me to go back to the beginning where it just about making music. It gets back to the music. It’s just me and a guitar or a piano. I love that feeling of dreaming about what the songs can do. This music is the overflow of my heart.” 

Christian's music is slower, closer to the indie genre and not comparable to the sound of Anberlin. He uses various instruments like piano, violins, and horns in order to create texture to his music and its own identity.

This link below will take you to the newly released trailer for the new album.

Anchor and Braille Album Trailer

 If you like the trailer then below click on the link and you can pre-order it!

"The Quiet Life" Pre-Order

Blog News: This weekend I will be releasing a review for House of Heroes' new album "Cold Hard Want".  Def check it out when it's up!

Places for Music News and Other Good Things

Posting twice in one day is probably not what one should do when just beginning something like this but whatever.

Finding good places that are truthful, accurate, and frequently update their information about bands and artists are a gold mine for music nerds like myself. I am going to post on here some of the sites and magazines that I read and check that will be helping me put out info on here! (Don't worry I will ALWAYS site my sources.)

-Alternative Press Magazine aka AP. I recently fell in love with this magazine and also their website. Their magazine is real, down to earth, and very "rock 'n' roll" if you know what I mean. They write things how it is and don't beat around the bush on any subject. They have solid relationships with many popular companies (ex. Vans) and bands also (Of Mice and Men, Miss May I, All Time Low to name a few that I have seen mentioned a lot).  I love that they still do print which makes me love them even more.

-altpress.com. This is AP's website and they update this multiple times a day with band news. A few recent posts that they have put up are House of Heroes talking about each song on they're new album (hint: I will be reviewing this album this week! Should be up Friday or Saturday), We Are In The Crowd's new music video for "Entrances and Exits", and Paramore starting to record drums for their new album. Always filled with current, today information and provides the readers with a lot of new material to check out (new bands, musics videos, acoustic tracks).

-CrescendoTV. These guys used to do print but stopped back in 2010. Now they do mainly artist interviews and post them on YouTube (just search CrescendoTV and you'll find it). A few of the videos I watched were Tim McTague from Underoath, Beau Bokan from Blessthefall, and some of the guys from The Devil Wears Prada. The interviewing skills of the journalists are high quality, they ask good questions. They ask ones that fans would be curious about and also silly and fun things too.

-Record label websites and Facebooks. My favorite record label is Tooth and Nail/Solid State Records. They have really high quality bands that have such a wide variety of styles. Checking out your favorite label's website can provide you with information about your favorite bands, new bands, and deals on merch. Also liking the label's Facebook page  or following them on Twitter can provide you with updates. 

Where do you get your music news from? Leave me  a comment and I'll try and use that website or magazine as a reference!

The Beginning

Hello world! My name is Megan and I am an up and coming music journalist. I love music with all my heart and want to share that with my readers! This blog is mostly just practice at album and concert reviews and maybe a bit of artist news from some of my favorite bands. Most of the music that will be on this site will be metal, hard rock, and a bit of punk and indie tunes.

Post comments on albums that I should view and general bands that I should check out!

-Megan