New Jersey’s Thursday has a new album Common Existence coming out. Here is one of the new tracks for your listening pleasure called “Resuscitation of a Dead Man”:
I was going to review the album early but since some a$$ hat out there leaked the feed I was given, it was removed and now I have to wait. I am ok with that wait though because I am very excited to hear this release.
I also found this video of Thursday performing “Friends in the Armed Forces” live last month that was featured on AP Magazine’s website. This song as well will be released on Common Existance which is scheduled to drop on Feb. 17th. The CD will be released through Epitaph Records.
Neverender was the landmark event where for the first time ever, Coheed and Cambria performed all four of their concept albums in entirety over four nights. Now for the first time, you can re-witness this incredible journey through an amazing box set containing not only a DVD and audio CD of each night’s performance, but also a must-have photo book and documentary DVD that captures the journey leading to this spectacular event. In addition, the limited edition deluxe NEVERENDER: CHILDREN OF THE FENCE EDITION box set also contains a collectible dragonfly.
Set includes:
– 4 Live DVDS
– 4 Live CDs
– 1 Documentary DVD
– 10 x 10 hardcover photo book
– Custom metal dragonfly keepsake piece 7.5 x 5.5
Plus if you pre-order before 12-16-2008 your name will be printed in the special “Children Of The Fence” section of the book. If that is not enough, the first 3000 pre-ordered box sets will be signed by the band.
The box set is scheduled to be released on 03-03-2009.
I may have or may not have pre-ordered one… I am a pretty big fan of them you know…
…and for the record this is one performace I wished came a little closer to my home so I could have see it live in the flesh. I kick myself for not making arrangements to travel to see it. It is one of those one in a life time things I missed out on, but with good reason. I am a working man you know. I am just glad they are releasing the DVD so I can at least say I saw it, even it I was not there.
American screamo teams up with Japanese screamo on the recently released Thursday / Envy split EP on Temporary Residence Limited. The two powerhouse bands contribute songs to this limited release that is being sold strictly CD+LP only (there will not be a sole CD or LP available) and can only be found in independent record stores. There is also a hand printed limited edition version that can be ordered exclusively on their website of on their label’s site. Both bands comprise exceptional tracks and really do a great job in doing so on this release.
Formed in New Jersey around 1997, Thursday has been a staple in the post-hardcore scene. Having released multiple albums, the band has had a very successful career despite ping ponging from record label to record label after mishaps and disputes. Currently the band is signed with Epitaph records for this full length to be released in 2009.
Screamo experimental rock act Envy, hailing from Japan, are unique in their own way with songs sung in their native tongue layered over post hardcore music, as well as a little experimental chill out on some tracks. Well respected all over the world by many and commonly known for their explosions of screaming on songs, I was really looking forward to finally hearing them.
So how did the two come to unite? Truth is Thursday is a huge fan of the experimental Envy. Back in April the Thursday posted news of the release on their site:
“It’s our pleasure to announce a split release with one of our favorite bands in the world. We are currently in the studio recording tracks for a 12” release with Japan’s Envy. For those of you unfamiliar with Envy, they are an experimental, epic, lush post-rock band that’s heavier than just about anything we’ve ever heard. Despite the enormous geographical distances between us, the bands have evolved from the same thrashy underground post-hardcore scene. Honestly, there’s no way to properly describe them.”
The split CD started out with four tracks by Thursday and opens with the impressive “As He Climbed The Dark Mountain”. Geoff Rickly and crew provided a solid track full of the sporadic singing styles I grew accustomed to with their previous releases, layered with some sick guitar playing and insane drumming. I really enjoyed this track a lot and after hearing this I can not wait to hear their next full length.
The dark instrumental “In Silence” was more of something you would hear the Crystal Method crank out. The techno strong song is far from the post-hardcore material the band is known for and I myself loved it. Full of distorted synthesizers, electronic drum beats, and a mellow piano solo, this song really showed a different side to the band usually known for their screamo.
“An Absurd And Unrealistic Dream Of Peace” had it’s moments with more of an emo feel throughout the song and really did not do much for me. “Appeared And Was Gone”, another instrumental track, continued the dark trend and was remixed by Anthony Molina of the 90’s alt rock band Mercury Rev. The track once again is more of a techno experiment that had a God Lives Underwater feel, but was just amazing. Lyrics added to this track might have enhanced the song a little further.
Envy really impressed me with “An Umbrella Fallen Into Fiction”, having not heard any of their material before. The song started out slow and really reminded me of The Cure for some reason but with a Japanese spoken word behind it. Think slow Dir En Gray, that is until you hit just after the 4 minute mark and the song completely explodes with lead singer Tetsuya Fukagawa’s dishing out some insane screaming over a faster tempo. The song was quite beautiful throughout although my lack of understanding the Japanese language wished to be informed.
“Isolation Of A Light Source” had enough screaming to push you to the ground. Again, I had not the faintest idea of what was going on, but I enjoyed the severity of the screams added along with the heavy music. The final track on the other hand,“Pure Birth And Loneliness,” was a gentler track than the previous two Envy songs… that is until about the four minute mark again. Surprising screaming snuck its way into the mostly mellow song and you could tell how full of emotion it was.
This really is one of the best split CDs I have heard in a while. Being happily introduced to Envy on this split may have added to some of the charisma but I have been listening to the whole CD over and over and so far have not grown bored with either party contained.
Thursday’s instrumentals on the track were the winners as it was something unexpected yet appealing. I almost wish there were more tracks on the CD as I was left with a craving for more. That’s ok though because I can now get more involved with Envy’s catalog and no longer wonder why they were so enthralling to Thursday.
Want to hear? I found the following songs on the Temporary Residence Limited website:
I am a huge fan of Coheed & Cambria. I am also a huge fan of vinyl toys.
Kill Audio (bloody) Vinyl Action Figure
Recently, rather a couple months back, I came across Kill Audio. Kill Audio is a comic/vinyl action figure created by Coheed & Cambria frontman Claudio Sanchez and artist Sheldon Vella. The comic is more of a project between the two with the comics being featured on the Kill Audio Myspace page, as well as featuring in Popgun from Image Comics. An actual hard copy should be available in 2009. Accompanying the comics are limited edition Kill Audio vinyl action figures, basicly a mini Claudio Sanchez who is the focus of the comics. The comic is just about as interesting as everything else that has been thought up by Claudio Sanchez.
I want.
So far the vinyl figures are available to fans through Comic Cons and other special events such as random signings at pop culture toy stores. A limited edition version gunmetal gray Kill Audio figure will be sold at the Neverender shows that Coheed & Cambria is playing in select cities. The Neverender show is the show of all Coheed & Cambria shows with the band playing through all four of their albums in four nights… What I would give to be a part of that.
Kill Audio (non-bloody) Vinyl Action Figure
For more info about Kill Audio, check out the following links:
Any fan of punk rock music has probably heard of a certain SoCal punk rock band called Face To Face. Formed by Trever Keith in 1991 the band gained commercial success with their ideal punk rock style and soon achieved commercial success. Trever Keith was the only original member to stick through the good times and bad times and sadly the band decided to call it quits in 2003
With the decision to go their separate ways Trever Keith did not stop there. He continued on with his passion for music and started recording solo material as well as maintained his own record label. On top of that he worked on other band projects including Legion Of Doom, a mash-up project of out of this world proportions. He is without a doubt one of the busiest punk rockers out there and it not willing to call it quits anytime soon.
Recently I learned that Face To Face had reunited for a small tour and possibly more. I decided to get in touch with Trever Keith to ask him some questions of his past, present, and future. Trever Keith was more than happy to take time out of his busy day and answer some questions for me.
Trever Keith
B: So I guess my first question would have to be what finally prompted Face To Face (F2F) to reunite for a few tours? I remember reading an interview a while back that you did not think it was going to happen.
TK: Scott [Shiflett] and I missed it and the offers started getting a lot more interesting.
Any specific offers in general?
Bamboozle 08 in Los Angeles was the clincher.
Who is all playing alongside you when you tour?
Scott of course. Sometimes Chad Yaro (depending on his availability, LA area shows are the most likely) and Danny Thompson on drums.
Any chance of expanding the tour? I see that F2F is playing some shows in California in November as well as a few select dates overseas in 2009.
As long as there is an interest from fans, we will be back out playing shows. We’re not looking at being back out on the road full time for F2F, but we are definitely planning some more stuff for 2009. We’ll just see how it goes.
Does this reunion tour mean there is a possibility that F2F might be back to record new material?
I suppose there is a remote chance. Although there are no plans.
Any real reason why F2F ultimately called it quits?
A desire to try some other projects and a sense that we had really run our course as a band. We didn’t want to overstay our welcome. But the fans have proved that the reality of that is completely the opposite. So we’re back as long as there is a demand.
Trever Keith
Enough about F2F, let’s talk about you and your continuing vision with music. Even after the band departed you continued forward. You released a solo album on your own record label. Can you tell me a little bit about both?
I have a label called Antagonist. I had an indie distribution deal that was a complete disaster. I’m out of it now. My plans for Antagonist are sort of changing with the landscape, but I at least know it’s a place for me to release my own music in the future.
My debut solo record was in limited release but is currently not available. I had initially had it available for download for $5.00 on my website and I pressed up about 1,000 limited edition CDs for sale only at shows.
These were things I wanted to do for the core fans. I am looking at an “official” release for early/mid 2009.
Will your “official” solo release be under your label or has anyone else shown interest is having it on their label?
There is interest, but it will be an Antagonist release regardless of whether I’m involved with another label or not.
You toured in support of your solo release. How were the shows you played at? Were there a lot of old school punkers there checking you out? Were a lot of people asking about the band you used to front?
Most of the shows were amazing. They were small sized clubs. Some were better attended than others but most of the time that really didn’t matter. The people that came were so cool. I made a point of hanging out a bit after every show and it was really something special. Many of these people are F2F fans but also really appreciated the work I am doing on my own and that was really the point of this small club tour; to really just get out there for the die hard fans and get the music to them first. Now my challenge is spreading it to a bigger audience.
Any plans for a second solo release?
Sure but give me a chance to promote this one properly first!
Face To Face
What is Viva Death all about?
It was a project that Scott and I thought up about 5 years ago. The first record was really a joint effort but on the second record it started to become more of Scott’s thing. He is just now finishing up the third Viva Death record which from what I’ve heard so far is amazing. He played all of the instruments on this one, even drums. It’s really a testament to what an amazing musician Scott is. You can check out his MySpace for more info. www.myspace.com/vivadeathmusic
I have read about a possible other project in the works as well called Pablum? Not much is known about them. Anything you might like to share?
Pablum is just an early name for my solo effort. I decided to go with my own name for simplicity.
How did you become involved with mashing up songs in Legion Of Doom?
Chad Blinman is a longtime friend. I sort of convinced him to start this mash-up thing while him and I had some downtime. We really started digging in and get hooked into the project. We decided to give ourselves a name and some soundtrack and remix work followed. It’s a project that is an amazing creative outlet for us that is unlike anything else we’re involved in. It’s something I look forward to doing for a long time. There are many ideas in the works for Legion of Doom.
Where did the idea come from to do such a thing, mash up emo/punk songs and even add a little hip-hop action? I admit the first time I heard it I was hooked?
Well I’d be lying if I said it was all my idea. I was doing some work with Darren Doane at the time and we always had this knack for discussing all sorts of crazy ideas for projects and stuff. He had this idea to do DJ style mash-ups of emo/hardcore bands. Since he’s in film and music videos he didn’t really have the know how to pull off such an idea so I ran with it.
The CD Incorporated is out of print and pretty much impossible to find. Do you think you would ever consider re-releasing it?
Face To Face might just be touring at a city near you.
We don’t have the permission from labels or publishers to release the CD, so probably not. Come to think of it, who made those first CDs anyway?
So you had nothing to do with the CD being released or do you have no comment? Haha.
No comment.
What is your favorite mash-up so far that you have helped create? I personally love the Coheed vs. Senses Fail mash-up called “Devil In A Blue Dress”. It seems like the two songs were meant to be mashed.
Destroy All Vampires [My Chemical Romance vs. A Static Lullaby mash-up]
Just curious on how Cleveland artist Derek Hess was recruited to draw up the cover for the CD?
That was another Darren Doane connection. I met Derek through Darren.
A couple of the Legion Of Doom songs were featured in movies such as Saw II and Resident Evil: Extinction. Any plans on having more mixes pop up in future movies?
I’d love to. Nothing confirmed at the moment. The last thing we did for a film is a placement in the movie Pathology which just came out on DVD.
Eyes Front is a movie released on Antagonist Films. Any relation to your own Antagonist Records Label? What all did you contribute to the film? Is this just the beginning of you working a little more in depth with a movie?
Antagonist Films is the same company as Antagonist Records. The Legion of Doom did all of the original music for the film and I was a producer on the film. I would love to do more work in film, but I’m not currently involved in any projects at the moment.
How did you land the role of producing the movie (Eyes Front)? Have you had previous experience producing film?
Again Darren Doane was the one who got me involved with the film. I have had no previous experience.
Speaking of movies it seems like you take samples from older movies and add them to the mix, how do you come across some of those?
There are websites with such material. Just gotta know where to look.
Have you seen any of the fan made videos of Legion Of Doom mash-ups on YouTube? What do you think about your fans creating them?
One of the most satisfying things about creating something is knowing that people really get it. Seeing those music videos to me is proof that people out there are really getting what we’re doing and they’re taking it up a level by adding their own creativity. It’s a humbling experience.
What is next for Legion Of Doom? Would you/have you considered touring? Will there be another CD released?
We’re getting ready to release an entire album of new original material.
When you look at all that you have accomplished musically, how does that make you feel? Any advise to share with anyone looking to be successful in a musical career whether it be creating or remixing?
I have mixed emotions. On the one hand, I feel lucky to have had some success and I am proud of the body of work I have created. And on the other hand I want to achieve more both as an artist and performer. The only advice I could give is you have to be relentless.
What’s next for Trever Keith?
World domination.
The Legion Of Doom
Look for Trever Keith’s official release of his solo album in early/mid 2009. For more information about what cities Face To Face is touring or to check out all the projects Trever Keith is currently involved in check out the following links:
