BYO Celebrates 25 Years

BYO was formed in 1982 by Mark and Shawn Stern of the band Youth Brigade as an outgrowth of their legendary LA club Godzilla's. BYO's debut release, 'Someone Got Their Head Kicked In,' captured the energy coming out of the exploding SoCal punk scene and included early songs from Bad Religion, Social Distortion, SNFU and Adolescents. On the 'Let Them Know' release, punk icons such as Leatherface, Ch3, 7 Seconds, Subhumans, NoFX, Bouncing Souls, Dropkick Murphys, Pennywise, Anti-Flag and many others cover songs from the extensive BYO Records catalog. Each band appearing on the album chose their favorite song from the catalog; all were recorded for 'Let Them Know' over the past two years. - more on this story

Free Les Paul Downloads

PR reports: In honor of the legacy of the late Les Paul, immergent Records will be offering five free downloads from the very last official CD that featured the playing of Les Paul - LES PAUL AND FRIENDS-A TRIBUTE TO A LEGEND beginning on the same day as his memorial service in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

After a funeral service Wednesday in New York City, Paul will be buried at a private ceremony on Friday, August 21, at the Prairie Home Cemetery in his hometown of Waukesha, WI. There will be a free public tribute and viewing from 10am to 2pm CT at Discovery World in Milwaukee. While other members of Paul's family are buried in this cemetery, his plot will be larger and separate to allow for the public to easily visit.

On Friday, the museum will also host a screening of Les Paul's final Wisconsin concert, at Milwaukee's Pabst Theater from 2008, and the guitar he used every week at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York City will also be on display. - more on this story

Sister Hazel Hit Online

PR reports: Sister Hazel, the Gainesville, Florida, rock five-piece, released their latest album, entitled "Release," yesterday, and the title shot up the iTunes Rock Charts, where it went all the way to #1. The album also found a spot on the overall iTunes sales chart at #8.

"It was really fun process," says band lead singer Ken Block of recording the album. "Overall, it was smooth as silk. Now even more fun begins: the album is out, the tour schedule will be busy, and we'll be playing the new stuff on the road, which is always a thrill. I'm so excited that 'Release' debuted so well on its first day out on the iTunes charts."

Sister Hazel was recently selected as a "recommended" user on Twitter where fans can follow the band at @SisterHazelBand. All five band members update the feed regularly. The band's list of Twitter followers has swelled to over 260,000 people. - more on this story

Digital Karnivool

PR reports: Australian quintet Karnivool has been dubbed hard rock, experimental, metal & progressive and compared to everyone from Tool to Incubus. Though the sound is difficult to define, the music is complex, intriguing and enigmatically captivating. Karnivool drop the Set The Fire To The Hive EP digitally as their debut release with SIN/SonyMusic Independent Network on Sept 15, 2009. Sony will be releasing Karniviool's new full-length, Sound Awake in February 2010.

To celebrate the release of the EP, Karnivool will be playing two intimate showcase dates – Tues, Sept 22 at The Knitting Factory in LA and Fri, Sept 25th at Don Hill's in NYC, their only U.S. shows of 2009.

"We're very excited about getting our music out there in the U.S.," notes Hoss (guitar). "With the new album not being released until February and the amount of questions we get about it from our overseas friends, the idea of releasing something in the interim became very appealing." - more on this story

Sugar Red Drive Launch Operation: Rock Tour

PR reports: With their self-titled debut in stores yesterday, Sugar Red Drive are celebrating by jumping back on the road for a great cause. Beginning on Friday, September 11th in Raleigh, NC, Sugar Red Drive, along with Papercut Massacre will join forces on the Operation: Rock Tour which will be honoring the men and women of the armed services by offering discounts for military personnel and their families.

Sugar Red Drive's passion, drive and desire to give back by getting involved in opportunities like Operation:Rock promise to keep them on the scene for years to come. "It's never gonna stop," the band's drummer, P.J. Gasperini, says. "We're here for the long haul."

Sugar Red Drive is currently generating massive heat on the Active Rock charts with their single "One More Time," [currently at No. 51 this week] which has been building steadily since its early June release. Coming up on its debut on the nationally syndicated show Hard Drive the weekend of August 22-23, "One More Time" is poised to explode in the coming weeks. - more on this story

Prog Death Metal Super Group Barren Earth Ink With Peaceville

PR reports: Peaceville Records is proud to announce the signing of Finnish prog death metallers, Barren Earth. With a line-up consisting of former members of prog/folk metal legends Amorphis, as well as current members of Swallow the Sun, Moonsorrow & Kreator, the band has been busy recording their debut album at the renowned Seawolf Studios in Helsinki, with the tracks currently being mixed by Dan Swanö (Katatonia/Opeth/Novembre).

On signing to Peaceville: "Getting signed by Peaceville Records is a great honour, as they are one of the very few metal labels left who have a passion and feeling for the music they release. To us, it also feels like coming home, because in a way they carry a big responsibility for BARREN EARTH's existence by having released the most important albums from pioneers such as Autopsy and Paradise Lost. Those albums played a huge role, when we sucked our musical mother's milk in the late 80's and early 90's. This is a fact that should be noticeably evident in Barren Earth's sound and music. Hopefully BARREN EARTH will also be able to add a fresh spin to Peaceville's already impressive roster". - Olli-Pekka Laine

The music of BARREN EARTH combines elements of modern and traditional death metal, with 70's prog rock and folk. Among the band's influences are artists such as Paradise Lost, Opeth, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull and also some pioneers of Finnish prog. - more on this story

Alberta Cross Set Debut

PR reports: Alberta Cross are poised for the release of their full-length debut, Broken Side of Time, set for release September 22 on ATO Records.

The album arrives on the heels of their acclaimed EP The Thief & the Heartbreaker, which earned the band U.K. touring slots with Oasis, The Shins and Bat For Lashes, and widespread critical praise.

Alberta Cross is coming off noteworthy performances at Bonnaroo, Coachella and SXSW and is slated to perform at Glastonbury, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits and more. Details on upcoming tour dates will be announced soon. - more on this story

Ernie Halter Sets Live Release

PR reports: Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Ernie Halter will be releasing a live album, entitled "Ernie Halter: Live," on September 8th. Initially, the album will be available exclusively on iTunes, with CDs available beginning September 20th at Halter's live shows.

The album includes eleven tracks recorded on tour in 2009 over the course of a month at a number of locations; a brand new track called "Yes I Am" is the only song that has not appeared in a studio version on one of Halter's past albums. "Ernie Halter: Live" offers a mix of solo acoustic and full band performances, with a stand-out being the solo piano version of fan favorite, "Whisper" (see full track list below).

The album was produced by Ernie Halter and Jason Spiewak and mastered by Matt Chiaravalle. Spiewak and Chiaravalle also mixed the album. "Ernie Halter: Live" features musicians Aaron Bishop, Michael Peters, Dave Yaden, JT Spangler, CC White, and Daniel Crawford. - more on this story

Revisit Silver Mountain

MMP reports: Metal Mind Productions presents Silver Mountain, a legendary Scandinavian heavy metal group hailing from Malmo in Sweden. They appeared on the scene in late 70's, only to dominate the 80's with their original and inspirational music. Over the years they released four LPs and one live album, forever carving their name in heavy metal history.

This exclusive re-release of their only live album, „Live at Hibiya '85", brings back a true metal icon, delivering music that is timeless… The album brilliantly captured the outstanding energy that emerged on the historical night (October 10th, 1985) at the Hibiya Yagai Ongaku-Do. The concert was a major success and brought the band many hopes for the future.

New digipak edition is limited to numbered 2000 copies. Digitally remastered using 24-Bit process on a golden disc. The album will be re-released on 7th September in Europe and 6th October in USA (via MVD). - more on this story

Post Harbor Ink Burning Deal

PR reports: Seattle-based Post Harbor has signed with Burning Building Recordings to release their next, as yet untitled full-length in early 2010.

Post Harbor has been circulating local venues for the past four years, consistently impressing with their dynamic and intense live performances. Having released their debut Praenumbra in 2007, the band quickly began creating a stir. Sound exclaimed their "heavy focus on instrumentation makes for an almost otherworldly effect when the band plays live." KEXP added the band "creates songs that begin with all the beauty of a Sigur Rós tune, only to dial up the percussion and angst…the result has been unanimously positive, a sign that maybe these guys will soon get the attention they deserve."

Over the past year, the band holed up in their bedrooms, cabins, and eventually, Soundhouse studios to record their much anticipated follow-up. Ultimately, the band felt Burning Building was the best fit - "Burning Building has been working with bands that we love for a while now, so when the opportunity presented itself to work with them, it seemed like a perfect match. We feel like they understand where our music is headed and have the kind of vision to help us take it there." - more on this story

Adam Marsland Double Album and Tour

PR reports: Following up 2008's "Daylight Kissing Night", a best-of collection of songs culled from Adam Marsland's previous solo releases and his band Cockeyed Ghost's four full-lengths, Marsland is ready to unleash a double album, "Go West", his first new studio record since 2004's "You Don't Know Me".

"When my last studio album came out in 2004, it was a low point. Nobody really wanted to hear it and I was burnt out from too much touring," he says, discussing his enthusiasm for 'Go West'. "Now things are totally different."

"Albums to me are like children, and you're responsible for them," he continues, "some grow up to be mechanics and you don't have to worry about them. Others are special, and you have to send them to medical school. 'Go West' is one of those." - more on this story

The Poodles To Yelp Across Europe

PR reports: The Poodles are happy to announce the Clash Of The Elements Tour of Europe 2009. "Clash of the Elements" will be released in Europe on August 28 by Blistering Records.

In support of the release of their brand new album the band will set off on a three week journey through Europe starting October 31st.

The band is eagerly awaiting the tour and is very much looking forward to meeting their fans in mainland Europe once again. - more on this story

Initial CMJ Performers Announced

PR reports: CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival, October 20th-24th has announced its first round of performing artists to include Broadcast, School of Seven Bells, Zac Brown Band, Múm, Atlas Sound, Japandroids, Margaret Cho, The Budos Band, Pitbull, The Very Best, The Temper Trap, Crystal Antlers, Portugal. The Man, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Malajube, Local Natives, Wild Light, The Antlers, Das Racist, Suckers, Pissed Jeans, and Screaming Females.

New York's largest music event and one of the world's most important showcases of new music artists, CMJ Music Marathon draws tens of thousands of professionals from all sectors of the music and film industry. More than 1,300 artists and over 120,000 music fans will converge on the Big Apple to catch the latest buzz band, cool indie film or learn more about the ever-changing music industry from key innovators, insiders and celebrities.

The 2009 event will feature performances from artists that span genres including alternative, rock, electronic, hip-hop, metal, Americana, world, jazz and so much more. It's virtually assured that 2010's superstar artists will be playing the CMJ Music Marathon in 2009. - more on this story

.... Whitesnake Photos

Whitesnake on the "Still Good To Be Bad World Tour 2009" part of the Judas Priest "British Steel 30th Anniversary Tour 2009" Charter One Pavilion in Chicago, IL, USA on July 19, 2009 - 35 photos! - Check out Live photos from this show

. Passport: Tito Puente- Olatunji- Marcio Local

Take a musical journey with Kevin Wierzbicki as he ventures beyond U.S. borders to listen to new releases from Tito Puente, Olatunji and Marcio Local - Read the full Tito Puente- Olatunji- Marcio Local review

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