Sam Sparro Delays US Tour Plans

September
8 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre
9 San Francisco, CA - The Independent
10 Seattle, WA - Neumo's
12 Toronto, ONT - The Mod Club
- more dates

REO Speedwagon Live DVD

Noble PR reports: Soul Food and Essential Music are extremely proud to announce the third UK DVD release in the Soundstage series, the top quality television show featuring live performances by world-class artists. Available for the first time on DVD REO Speedwagon- 'Live In The Heartland' will hit UK stores on October 6th 2008.

REO Speedwagon – 'Live In The Heartland' captures the band's current line-up of Kevin Cronin (lead vocals, guitar), Bruce Hall (bass), Neal Doughty (keyboards), Dave Amato (lead guitar) and Bryan Hitt (drums) performing in front of adoring fans on their home turf in 2007.

The spectacular 16-song set, recorded in awe inspiring High-Definition and mixed in 5.1 Surround Sound for the hit PBS concert series Soundstage, spans REO's celebrated 35 year career. - more on this story

Thrashing Like A Maniac Tour Crosses The Atlantic

Hooked on Caps Lock Records reports: When EARACHE RECORDS' highly successful Thrashing Like A Maniac Tour stormed cities across the U.S. with new thrash sensations BONDED BY BLOOD, MERCILESS DEATH and FUELLED BY FIRE, metalheads on the other side of the Atlantic ran riot with jealousy.

After huge demand, European thrashers can now celebrate - the Thrashing Like A Maniac Tour is officially coming to Europe!

Talented young shredders BONDED BY BLOOD will be bringing their skills over to Europe this September along with frantic Irish thrashers GAMA BOMB and Finnish openers DISCARD to deliver a tour of pure thrash featuring the greatest and fastest bands of the new wave! - more on this story

Paper Route Final Riot Tour Routing

PR reports: Nashville's Paper Route are busy crossing the country on The Final Riot tour, earning over fans with their unique blend of electronic-laced melodic pop.

The band has just released the 5-track Are We All Forgotten EP, and are now offering a free MP3 for the driving "Empty House." To accompany the free download, they've also made a new short video clip to visually capture the song's essence, the 4th installment in their handcrafted series. [we would include links but the a**holes at ASCAP want to charge us for simply linking to music].

Check out the full summer tour dates below, and take special note of the newly announced headlining show for lucky New Yorkers at the Mercury Lounge on August 18. - dates

zebrahead Are Big in Japan, Map Out US Club Tour

Independent Music Media reports: zebrahead are just back from a successful European tour and the band is set to hit the road for a trek of US dates in support of the group's highly-anticipated new album 'Phoenix' out this week on ICON Music Entertainment.

Japanese release of Phoenix sold over 50k first week placing #1 on Japan's International Chart beating out Coldplay, Offspring, Madonna.

This full length CD/DVD combo pack features 16 new songs. DVD features the never-released BROADCAST TO THE WORLD DVD, with live footage, all videos from that album and zebrahead antics. with most tracks produced by Cameron Webb (Social Distortion, Motorhead, Papa Roach) along with a few tracks produced by zebrahead's old friend and producer from their debut release Howard Benson (Daughtry, Saosin, POD Adema) with Artwork and package design by Shawn Harris of The Matches - dates

Olympia Lose their Voice

PR reports: Olympia (Hope Division/Equal Vision Records) vocalist Phil Williams has decided to step down as frontman and the band is currently seeking a permanent replacement. Here's a statement from the group:

"We wish Phil the best of luck. He's a great singer and a great friend. Right now we're just anxious to find a replacement and keep moving forward. We've been working hard writing and recording a ton of new material and its coming out amazing. A lot of things have been coming together for us personally and professionally as a band so we figured now would be as good a time as any to announce that we are looking for a singer. This whole situation has re-energized us so to speak, and these new songs are coming out heavier then our previous stuff and it's really exciting." - want the gig?

Matthew Perryman Jones Pulls a Radiohead

PR reports: Thirty Tigers is proud to present another triple a singer/songwriter, Matthew Perryman Jones. Think Bono meets Coldplay meets Pete Yorn.

Matthew's music has already been recognized in LA as perfect material for TV (he's already had placements on Kyle XY, Private Practice, Eli Stone and The Hills...with more to come this fall), and his fan base is rapidly growing with each placement.

To get the word out about his new album, MPJ is giving away his last record, Throwing Punches in the Dark via Noisetrade (noisetrade.com). This widget allows folks to download his last record for 3 email addresses or by naming their own price (starting at $1). - Go here to find that

Bird and the Bee Spawn Obi Best

PR reports: When she's not moonlighting as back-up singer for acclaimed retro-pop group the Bird and the Bee (Bluenote), Alex Lilly is masterminding the fanciful pop of Obi Best. With the help of a few Los Angeles-based friends and a sensibility that's as at home with Stereolab as it is with Prokofiev, Lilly conjures music that's complex and catchy -- think geometry, double-dutch, and animated spin art.

Obi Best's debut album, Capades, is a rich tapestry of piano, airy electronica, refined rock and panoramic beats deftly punctuated by bells and chirps and otherworldly sounds. Ranging from melodic and ethereal to rollicking and fun, the album inhabits a lush universe where fantasy and reality live side by side; here, Tokyo lies just around the block from Stockholm, youth and wisdom hold hands, magic seems to grow on trees.

Guiding the tour are Lilly's clarion vocals, which call to mind Feist, or Karen Carpenter (with more traction). Singing about bygone eras, nasty neighbors, lovers' covert ancestry, and the inadequacy of language all with disarming frankness, Lilly is both wide-eyed and watchful. It's this odd pairing of innocence and worldliness, combined with Lilly's irreverence and sass as a live performer, that makes Obi Best one of the more intriguing projects to come out of LA's music scene in recent years. - more on this story

UK Buzzband The Little Ones Get US Deal

Atlantic Records reports: Acclaimed indie-pop group The Little Ones have signed with Atlantic affiliate label Chop Shop Records, and unveiled plans for the U.S. release of their full-length debut, Morning Tide.

Recently released independently via the venerable Heavenly Recordings in the UK, the album is already receiving a flood of critical praise. [quotes from the usual hypsters]. The highly anticipated, 11-song collection will arrive in stores and online on October 7.

To support the U.S. release of Morning Tide, The Little Ones have announced a run of tour dates with NYC-based indie rockers The Walkmen. The two-week jaunt kicks off at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, NC on October 2nd - more on this story

Stevie Ray Vaughan Replica Guitar

MVD reports: In tribute to the inspiring musicianship and indelible legacy of Stevie Ray Vaughan, GMP Diecast is pleased to announce the release of Stevie Ray's most recognizable guitar number 1.

This officially licensed, 1:3-scale Fender guitar replica features a real wood neck contoured to match the real guitar, an accurately contoured die-cast body, moveable pickup selector switch, volume and tone controls, real steel strings, and a moveable tremolo arm.

Vivid colors and wood grain details make this replica a must-have for any guitar enthusiast. It comes with a display stand, wall mount, and full-color collector's box, making it the perfect addition to any collection. - more on this story

SXSW 2009 Open For Business

SXSW reports: The twenty-third South By Southwest (SXSW) Music and Media Conference and Festival is now open for business. Geared toward music industry professionals from around the world, SXSW is a unique opportunity to make lasting connections within the entertainment industry. A keynote address anchors four days of panels, interviews, workshops, mentor sessions, peer meetings, and the trade show. Daytime events at the Austin Convention Center flow into the world-renowned music festival, which showcases over 1500 acts on stages throughout downtown Austin. Conference registrations, hotel requests, and music festival showcase applications are now being accepted. SXSW Music takes place March 18 - 22, 2009 in Austin, Texas.

Registration for SXSW Music allows you access to all daytime events at the Austin Convention Center, entry into official SXSW day parties, the Trade Show which opens on Wednesday and runs through Friday and priority access into all SXSW nighttime showcases. In addition, registration will allow you to access the 2009 Online Registrants Directory, a great tool to aid in planning your SXSW meetings and networking throughout the year. Click on http://sxsw.com/music to learn more and to register to attend.

SXSW is now accepting showcase applications for music acts to perform at the 2009 music festival. - more on this story

Kiss My Ankh Details

PR reports: In honor of Vinnie Vincent's birthday on August 6th, SplitScreen Entertainment has opened up pre-orders for its upcoming tribute album "KISS MY ANKH: A Tribute To Vinnie Vincent." It has also revealed the album's full track listing and complete artist roster.

Scheduled for release on August 27th, the album is now available for pre-order via the SplitScreen Entertainment website. Additionally, song samples of all tracks are now available at the official "KISS MY ANKH" MySpace page. All songs on the tribute were written or co-written by Vinnie Vincent and originally appeared on albums by Kiss and the Vinnie Vincent Invasion.

"KISS MY ANKH" features a mixture of veteran and rising talent, united by a common passion for the source material. The tribute kicks off in grand fashion with a retro take on "Killer" by YouTube sensation DoubleVirgo, who made headlines earlier this year at KissOnline with his vintage-flavored interpretation of another overlooked Kiss nugget. Next up is a soaring rendition of "I Still Love You" by New York metal masters Gods of Fire, who add their distinct bombastic flair to the familiar ballad. This is followed by Kiss concert staple "Lick It Up," rendered with flash and finesse by the female-fronted Future 86, known for their long-running series of TV spots for media giant Cablevision. A soulful acoustic version of "A Million To One" follows by the one-man band of Steve Brown, founding Trixter guitarist and current frontman of modern rock outfit Stereo Fallout. - more on this story

. Erasure - Live at the Royal Albert Hall DVD

Most of all, it is Bell's strong singing that sells Erasure's performance. He invests plenty of emotion into each and every line. Ultimately, Erasure makes an indelible mark with this excellent concert work. (4 stars) - Read the full Erasure - Live at the Royal Albert Hall DVD review

. Overkill - The Years of Decay

Basically, The Years of Decay is like the cliché pull-the-rabbit-out-of-the-hat trick. At first glance, it's innovative and intriguing, but it's tepid in comparison to the more advanced magic tricks coming out. - Read the full Overkill - The Years of Decay review

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