Category Archives: Music News

Cypress Hill & The 2 Day Smoke Out (Festival)

I am beyond jealous of this line up…

I have not seen quite a line up like this in a long time.

Where do I start talking about this amazing festival? 

Sublime?  Seriously?  I am so curious to see how this is going to pan out.  Who is this 20 year old Rome who picked up the singing duties?  Will it be just a glorified Long Beach Dub Allstars?

Why am I asking so many questions???  I am excited that is why.

Pennywise will be playing one of the days with their new singer who was just assigned as Jim Lindberg announced his departure of the band last month after being with the band for 19 years.  Zoli Teglas from handcore punk band Ignite is taking over the duties temporarily.  I am so curious to see how this goes.

Pennywise’s Fletcher Dragge had this to say about the replacement:

“As everybody knows, Jim has left the band and we’re looking for a new singer. For the time being our friend Zoli has agreed to fill in for Jim for a couple shows to avoid having to cancel them while we look for a permanent replacement.”

Acts like Cypress Hill, Deftones, Method Man & Red Man, Bad Brains, Afrika Bambaataa (wow, seriously…wow), Mix Master Mike, Goodie Mob (reunion performance), Hieroglyphics, and the Geto Boys (reunion performance) all in a span of two days all hosted by Cheech & Chong really makes me wish this was a touring festival. 

Sadly though, it is in California and there is no way I am going to be at that show this year.  I hope to read good things about it and I thank my pals over at Earshot Media for giving me the heads up.

My Hero: The Indie/Undie Performer Har Mar Superstar

If you have never heard of Har Mar Superstar and claim to have a sense of humor as well as hold an appreciation towards those who work hard at the music they create, you are missing out.

I will say though, Har Mar is not for everyone.

Born Sean Tillman, Har Mar Superstar can be defined as a singer/songwriter with major indie(undie)-pop / R&B / dance qualities.  He is a performer like none other and has made a huge name for himself in the UK in past years.  In 2004 he released The Handler and in October he will be dropping an all new album titled Dark Touches.  Not only does he write his own music, but he also writes for others making this guy one of the harder working artists out there.

On Dark Touches, Har Mar will take his dance club pop style to a whole new level thanks to his dedicated work to his moniker and will feature a huge roster of special guests including P.O.S., The Faint‘s sick beat creators Clark Baechle and Jacob Thirle, and even is joined by John Fields who has produced many acts including Andrew WK and Rooney.

To make things even more interesting Dark Touches will include a track that Har Mar co-wrote that was originally intended for pop superstar Britney Spears.  Rejected by Britany Spears’ management for unknown reasons, Har Mar decided he keep the track “Tall Boy” and include it on his upcoming album with unchanged lyrics and his added style making for an interesting listen.

DOWNLOAD THIS!Har Mar Superstar – “Tall Boy”

I can still remember the first time I had the pleasure of checking out Har Mar Superstar.  It was 2001 and the then unknown artist was the opening act for Tenacious D.  Har Mar came to the stage all by himself and performed to the crowd his material while slowly stripping throughout to his tighty whities.

The crowd was speechless.

I was cheering as loudly as I could. All the silent folk around me turned their heads from the stage and looked at me with the same puzzled look.  Others in the theater were cheering too but I am pretty sure that not all of the applause was sincere.  Mine was.

I cheered for a couple of reasons.

One being for his performance.  It was good.  He sang pop like songs sometimes heavy on the R&B over pre-recorded material.  He danced about the stage in his own style and proved to have better moves that many people who frequent over priced dance clubs.

I also cheered because this guy had the balls to take the stage and do his thing without hesitation.  There was a lot of heckling and plenty of booing during the show but Har Mar just blew it off like it was nothing.  He believed in himself and even if his performance included scrapping his attire, I appreciated his performance.

Since the night I made sure to check out all that he has released and I not once was disappointed.  “DUI”, a track from The Handler is a track that still remains in heavy rotation in my musical listening choices.

It’s been five years since I last heard from Har Mar and it’s true, I am excited to hear what is to come from this insanely talented performer.  Look for the new album to drop in the states on October 13th.

Here is the video for “DUI”:

Press info found on Har Mar Superstar’s website:

After a five-year proper-album break since 2004’s The Handler, Har Mar Superstar, sexy as ever, is ready to unleash Dark Touches on the masses. On Dark Touches, Sean Tillmann – the singer, songwriter, and producer behind the Har Mar moniker – delivers his most club-friendly collection of jams yet. Tillmann’s silky smooth croon and tongue-in-cheek lyrics lead a nonstop dance party that blends everything from synth-pop to R&B, with ample hooks around every corner.

Dark Touches builds a bridge between the worlds of indie and Top 40 dance music, thanks in part to an eclectic group of collaborators. The album’s many guests include John Fields (Andrew WK, The Jonas Brothers, Rooney), The Faint’s beatmakers Clark Baechle and Jacob Thiele, singer-songwriter Adam Green, P.O.S. of the Rhymesayers collective, Neon Neon’s Boom Bip, Flowers of Doom, and Samaire Armstrong. The Bird and The Bee’s Greg Kurstin, who has also produced tracks for Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue, and Lily Allen, co-wrote and lent his studio wizardry to “Tall Boy.” The track was originally intended for Spears and, with the unchanged lyrics, takes on a vibrant new life in the hands of Har Mar.

Of course no Har Mar song is complete without Tillmann’s signature lyrics, which are both outrageously absurd and witty. “I Got Next,” which features The Bird and The Bee’s Inara George, details Tillmann’s practice of asking women to sign contracts that put him next in line to date if they ever leave their current boyfriend. He has also penned an anthem for the ladies with “Girls Night,” a track that was once intended for The Cheetah Girls, and like “Tall Boy,” maintains the original lyrics, written from a female perspective.

Tillmann is also getting ready to dip his toes into the world of Hollywood with the release of Whip It, a film directed by Drew Barrymore. As if he isn’t wearing enough hats already, Tillmann is actively developing his own movie scripts and sitcom pilots. Along with his golden pipes, the ability to juggle multiple creative outlets is sure to win him entry into both the hearts and undergarments of women and men everywhere.

Get ready, everyone. Dark Touches is coming!

As always, if you are on Facebook, please stop by the page, become a fan, and say hi:
HAR MAR SUPERSTAR FACEBOOK PAGE.

You can also follow Har Mar on TWITTER & listen to his music at MYSPACE.

R.I.P. DJ AM (Adam Goldstein) – 1974-2009

Travis Barker & DJ AM
Travis Barker & DJ AM

I got home around 2:30am this morning when I checked Twitter before shutting my eyes on an amazing day.

Sadly I read something I wish was not true.  DJ AM was found dead in his NYC home.

Seriously?  WTF.

Having personal battles in his life, it was stated that the popular DJ who has worked with a whole slew of folk including Crazy Town, Jay Z, and most recently Travis Barker ended his life by an apparent drug addiction.

Having narrowly escaped death not even a year ago from a fatal plane crash it appears as if he simply could not deal with life anymore and made a terrible decision to pull the plug on his life.

Travis Barker tweeted the following this afternoon:

Don’t know how i am gonna play 2night but i am for AM. My brother is gone.i love u and miss u, i’ll never forget all the good times we had. I’ll never forget everything we’ve been thru and every time i play the drums i’ll think of you. U were an amazing friend/DJ/human being. Rest In Peace my brother, this really fucks me up.

It’s just sad to see such talent just end it all.  He made a powerful impact on so many other artists…

I appreciate all music out there so obviously I was familiar with some of his work but not all of it.  I do know that he was too young to leave this world the way he did.

Perhaps the most stand out DJ AM material to me is that of the DJ AM and Travis Barker (TRV$/DJ-AM) mix tapes that are available on the internet.  The TRV$/DJ-AM mixes are available for download free of charge.  If you have not heard them before you should check out what the late DJ and drumming sensation Travis Barker created.  The mixes incorporate live drumming by Travis Barker along side DJ AM spinning just about anything he could get his hands on.

RIP DJ…

Bouncing Souls Continue Their Celebration…

The Bouncing Souls have announced another US tour but this time with Bayside and Broadway Calls.  Still taking advantage of 2009 the punk rockers continue with their celebration as a punk rock band for 20 years.

Do these guys ever slow down?

The answer is no.

Bouncing Souls bassist, Bryan Kienlen, had this to say of the upcoming dates:

Bayside has been on our radar for a while now, we’d heard a lot of good things about them and liked their music so we asked them to join our fall tour. Since then we’ve spent 3 straight weeks of hanging out together the Warped Tour, and have since become great friends and fans of the band. This is gonna be a great tour!

The upcoming US tour dates follow the Souls’ Canadian tour w/ Youth Brigade and Off With Their Heads and takes the band down the West Coast, and through the Midwest, hitting the likes of Vegas, Seattle, Portland, San Diego, Detroit, Chicago and two-shows each in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

The Cleveland based magazine Alternative Press is presenting the tour.

Tour Dates:

Europe
Aug 27 2009 Uergrou Cologne
Aug 28 2009 Reading Festival Reading
Aug 29 2009 Academy Dublin
Aug 30 2009 Leeds Festival Leeds
Sep 1 2009 Cafe La Peche Paris
Sep 2 2009 Entrepot Brugges
Sep 3 2009 Backage Munich
Sep 4 2009 2 Days a Week Festival Wiesen
Sep 6 2009 Rock Planet Pinarella
Sep 8 2009 Music Box Lisboa
Sep 9 2009 Sala Live Madrid
Sep 10 2009 Sala KGB Barcelona

Canadian Tour
w/ Youth Brigade, Off With Their Heads and more!
Sep 23 2009 – Montreal, QC – Foufounes Electrique
Sep 24 2009 – Ottawa, ON – Ritual
Sep 25 2009 – Guelph, ON – Vinyl
Sep 26 2009 – London, ON – Call The Office
Sep 27 2009 – Toronto, ON – Opera House
Sep 30 2009 – Winnipeg, MB – The Pyramid Cabaret
Oct 1 2009 – Regina, SK – Riddell Centre
Oct 2 2009 – Edmonton, AB – Starlite
Oct 3 2009 – Calgary, AB – MacEwan Ballroom
Oct 4 2009 – Banff, AB – Wild Bills
Oct 6 2009 – Victoria, BC – Sugar Nightclub
Oct 7 2009 – Vancouver, BC – The Rickshaw Theater

US Tour
w/ Bayside and Broadway Calls!
Oct 21 2009 – Seattle, WA – Neumos
Oct 22 2009 – Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre
Oct 23 2009 – San Francisco, CA – Slim’s
Oct 24 2009 – San Francisco, CA – Sim’s
Oct 25 2009 – San Luis Obispo, CA – Downtown Brew
Oct 27 2009 – Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues
Oct 28 2009 – Pomona, CA – The Glass House
Oct 29 2009 – San Diego, CA – House of Blues
Oct 30 2009 – Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theatre
Oct 31 2009 – Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theatre
Nov 03 2009 – Englewood, CO – Gothic Theatre
Nov 04 2009 – Kansas City, MO – Beaumont Club
Nov 05 2009 – Madison, WI – Majestic Theatre
Nov 06 2009 – Chicago, IL – Metro
Nov 07 2009 – Detroit, MI – Majestic Theatre

+ More dates coming soon!

And now a personal note from me to the Souls:

Hey guys I have a great idea.  You should play another show in Cleveland!!! You are going to be so close on 11/07… you might as well!!!  Remember the good times at the Grog Shop earlier this year?  I mean after all you did play two back to back shows…and I was there for one of them.  Come on guys you know you want to.

Pennywise Lead Vocalist Jim Lindberg Calls It Quits

Thanks to Punknews.com for confirming this…

Jim Lindberg of punk rock act Pennywise announced that is is quitting the band after being their lead signer and songwriter for over twenty years.

Jim had this to say about his departure:

After 20 years, nine albums and thousands of shows around the world, my time in Pennywise has come to an end. Being the singer for this band has been an amazing experience, and along the way we made some of the best fans anyone could ask for. There are few things that made me more proud than seeing people at our shows singing our songs, and it’s your support and encouragement that’s kept me going this long. would sincerely like to thank everyone who helped us along the way and wish everyone in the Pennywise family the best of luck and continued success. Yours truly, Jim

Thanks to Ear Shot Media for supplying this statement from the rest of the band about the departure:

After 19 years with Pennywise, Jim Lindberg has decided to step down as lead singer. Pennywise has long stood behind the motto that you should always follow your heart and pursue what makes you happy, and we wish Jim the best of luck in his new ventures, whatever they may be. Pennywise has become a way of life for a lot of people, and has definitely become a way of life for us. As the three remaining members of Pennywise we feel that we are not done delivering our message to our fans.

The band has always been about moving forward in life no matter what obstacles stand in front of you. We will begin our search for a new singer immediately. We will continue to tour the world and we are looking forward to writing new music. We’ve had a lot of good times and survived the hard times thanks to the undying support of our fans. We’re looking forward to what the future may bring.

Sincerely Fletcher, Randy, and Byron

I am glad to see that Pennywise will still move on spite the loss of a main component of the band.  I can not wait to see who takes over the singing duties and if there will be a chance in sound.

Jim Lindberg plans on releasing his own album and is also currently in the middle of filming a documentary based of his 2007 auto-biography titled Punk Rock Dad: No Rules Just Real Life.